


Twist Ending

by Rrazz



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 10:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11781693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rrazz/pseuds/Rrazz
Summary: Upon finishing his latest story, the author finds himself trapped within his own fiction! With a grim ending looming ahead, can he change the story and save himself and his new friends...Or is the outcome already decided? Rated T for violence.





	1. In the Dark of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning this is an old self insert fanfic I tried my hand at while bored, I know self insert stuff is generally not the most popular thing so I figure I'll let everyone know up front so they can bail :P

_"Damn it!" I hissed as I carefully ducked behind a pillar, a hand pressing against my shoulder as I did my best to stop the blood that was pouring out of the wound. The harder I tried the worse it seemed to bleed though. I'd need to think of something else…But I didn't have time for that, already I could feel the chilling presence of my attacker looming closer, slowly tracking me down._

_Gritting my teeth against the pain, I glanced about uneasily, searching for the shadow. Though given the low light that seeped into the old fortress, it wasn't surprising that there were dozens to choose from, any one of which could be hiding the Nightmare._

_It was toying with me, it had been all along. Only striking when it served to disorient me further. "I must admit, its been fun watching you struggle." A cold voice hissed in my ear, the sound seemingly coming from every direction at once. "Watching you and you're…Friends try in vain to stop me.  
_

_"Trying, and failing..." It continued, and I risked a glance around the side of the pillar, hoping for a glimpse of either the creature, or one of my companions, there was no way I could face it alone, not with my bare hands._

_"You were an excellent puppet, I must admit." It taunted, and unbidden a flash of memories assaulted my mind. Past failures…"I couldn't have done it without you…" It continued to taunt me, my teeth ground together as the pain from my shoulder mixed with the mental assault as it forced me to dwell on the past._

_"I'd…Never help you." I growled quietly through my teeth, doing little more then stalling at this point in hopes of thinking of some brilliant, last second strategy or escape plan._

_"Oh but you did!" It replied, mocking tone that made me want cringe. "Why do you think they failed? Why do you think the Elements failed?" Again a flash of memory, this time from mere hours before…When everything had started going wrong._

_"You cause this…All of it!" Still distracted by the memories, the pain, I failed to notice the shadow detaching itself from the wall and moving closer, slowly taking on the shape of a vaguely humanoid figure. "That is why I brought you here…That is why I ensured you made it this far. The Elements would no doubt have been my undoing again…But you…You're presence changed everything." Blinking away the images, I finally caught sight of the grinning shape in front of my, glowing eyes piercing my soul as they bored into my own. Despite my instincts screaming at me to run, I simply stood still, staring blankly at the creature as it gloated._

_"You ruined everything, broke the link." I could hear the grin on its voice. "You're feelings got the best of you. You killed them in a pathetic attempt to save, her." More memories were conjured up, reminding me of what I almost had…What'd I'd lost._

_Gritting my teeth tighter, I snarled and rushed forwards, closing the gap in two quick strides before I lashed out with one clenched fist. It was quicker and it easily closed a hand around mine, and tightened its grip until a sickening crack made me cry out in pain._

_With little effort it shoved me backwards, connecting with the pillar I slid down into a sitting position, the pain and blood loss starting to get the better of me. I wasn't cut out for this._

_How easy it would be to end this now." A clawed hand closed around my throat and hauled me up off the ground. "How easy it would be to squeeze the life out of you and end it now…With the Elements shattered, there's nothing left to stop me…" I felt the grip starting to tighten around my throat, my breathing grew shallower, and then with a sharp cough I stopped entirely. My still usable hand tried in vain to pry myself loose, to no effect._

_"Maybe you should join her in hell. Maybe you'd enjoy that?" Darkness started to creep into the corners of my vision, again I glanced about vainly, there had to be something I could do…_

_"Go ahead." I coughed, cringing at the taste of blood in my mouth. "She might be gone, but the others will, find a way to end you." I barely heard the Nightmare's laughter, my senses starting to dull._

_"They'll fail, just like, you." Its grip tightened further, and I could just barely feel the bones in my neck starting to crack under the pressure. I poured all the strength I had left into trying to fight the creature off,_

_It responded to my words, but I didn't hear, everything was fading to darkness. I didn't even know if it snapped my neck or not, as I was to far gone by the time it made up its mind…_

* * *

_"Hm…No, no, NO. That doesn't sound right."_

With a few taps of the keyboard, the last paragraph vanished and was soon replaced by a new, different line of text. Seconds later it vanished as well. "Why doesn't anything, WORK!" I snapped, my fingers drumming against the keyboard as my gaze wandered over the last few paragraphs of the story in front me.

It _should_  have been easy. It  _should_  have been done three days ago! But for some reason I could just, not get the ending right. And it was driving me insane.

Muttering a few choice words under my breath, I set to work retyping the last few paragraphs, trying variations on wording, altering the entire page and starting it entirely even. But for some reason the ending of this story, the story I'd worked on for months just never came out *right*.

A sigh forced its way past my lips as I ran my hands through my hair. "Come on Simon, think! It's up there, just put it into words and be done with it!" I hissed quietly, knowing my parents were asleep only a few rooms away. The last thing I wanted was to wake them with my frustrated cursing…I'd done that enough times this week already.

After another ten minutes of frustrated typing, I sighed a second time, a hand shifting up to remove my glasses, the other idly moving to rub my tired eyes in the process. "Maybe I should finish it in the morning." I commented, slipping my glasses back on, I glanced at my computers clock.

_2:35 am_

Hell, I'd been at this for almost three hours now. I should have gone to bed, heck I knew that was the best idea, I had a habit of doing my best thinking while I slept…

Instead of doing the smart thing however, my fingers idly tapped the Alt-Tab keys, and the story I was writing was replaced by my Steam games list. "Ten minutes." I mumbled to myself, despite knowing it was a bad idea I still hit the play button on the first game that looked appealing and put the story from my mind…

* * *

_With a satisfied grin, the Nightmare cast the now limp human aside, the lifeless body landing in a heap a few feet away. "Delusional till the end." It commented, idly flexing its claws and admiring the fresh blood on them._

_There was just one last loose end. The five ponies that still remained…They were in the castle somewhere, hunting for their missing friends._

_Its gaze flicked to the human once again. It was a regrettable outcome, but the human had done his job, he'd ensured the Elements failed, that through his own actions the group was divided and easy pray. With even one of them dead, the Elements of Harmony couldn't be used, and in turn it couldn't be stopped._

_Its gaze shifted again to a second broken body a short distance away. A scowl formed as it recalled what had ultimately been their undoing, somehow the human had developed feelings for one of the ponies, had thought it would be wise to abandon them and fight it alone. Of course his precious pony hadn't let him run off had she? No, the love sick filly had come running to save her precious *Friend* and had fallen right into its claws._

_It had been all the incentive the human, Simon needed to fall into its grasp, and now they would all pay the price for the fool's actions. Without her, the others would fall just as easily._

_Its thoughts were interrupted when a voice reached its ears, closely followed by another. And soon enough more started to peak its interest, all calling out one or the other's name._

_Its grin returned. "Like moths to a flame." It paused for a moment, before responding in kind, calling out to the group. Though its voice had changed, now sounding like the pony they searched for, rather then the shadow fiend they feared…Soon enough the_  clip clopping of hooves drew closer,  _following the urgent cries for help they thought was coming from their friend…_

* * *

Despite the late hour, and despite the grim words on the screen, I smiled. For the first time since starting this chapter, I was genuinely happy with the result. Sure it was grim, sure I was killing off *myself* in a sense. But that was part of the plan…

I'd decided from the start, when I'd first come up with the idea for this lame, self insert fan fiction, that it would end on a sour note. Every story of its kind I'd read had always wound up being in the same fashion.

'Hero arrives in X universe. Hero somehow winds up saving the day through either his presence or some unknown gift they'd received as part of their dimension hoping. And in the end they got the girl/guy of their dreams on top.'

I had no issue with that. However I'd wanted to be different. I'd concocted the idea that the story would go in the opposite direction. The hero would end up in the universe of my choice, in this case Equestria.

However instead of saving the day and proving to be the hero, he'd wind up ruining everything by accident, end up getting everyone killed. Worst of all being the girl he fell for; he'd lose her, and then lose the fight entirely.

It was a pretty grim ending for the story, but its how I wanted it. Grim, dark, and unexpected. No twist ending, no come from behind victory…No happily ever after.

I sighed heavily, feeling the usual pangs of regret I had when I wrote something like this, despite them being fictional, I still felt a sense of regret whenever I hurt or killed a character in one of my fictions. In this case they were the Mane Six! The My Little Pony characters I'd come to enjoy watching when my friend had talked me into watching Friendship is Magic (And I hadn't regretted it for a second).

I pushed the feeling aside however. I might not like the idea of harming the characters, but hey, once this was done I could always write some nice Shipping tale or something and put my mind at ease…It WAS just a story after all…

I glanced over at the clock as that thought crossed my mind, and I felt my eyes widen as I realized it was now past 4 am.

"Hellllll!" I groaned, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting me. I'd been so caught up in the moment that I hadn't realized just how tired I was.

Without thought I tapped the Save key, committing my story to my computers hard drive, then closed it. I could handle the proof reading tomorrow. And then I'd upload it and that would be that. The story would officially be over…It felt good to finally finish something for a change.

Yawning, I went through my typical last minute check list, checking emails, ensuring no one had contacted me via Steam or the like. It was a routine I'd perfected over the years to the point that I could do it blind folded.

Yes this was I spent my days, sitting on my bed with a keyboard and mouse, wasting day after day on video games and writing fan fiction. For most this would have been a easy going weekend, or a day off. For me, this was life.

Occasionally I'd chuckle at myself, having turned into the stereo typical 'nerd'. I was twenty years old, living at home with my parents (not that I had issues with that) and wasting my days playing video games.

Oh sure I left my room plenty, but the fact remained that my 'life' centered around a mouse and keyboard, hardly a productive way to live. I didn't have a job or many friends, being social weren't one of my skills…

But I didn't complain often, right now I hummed quietly as I scanned over the few emails I'd received since looking a few hours ago. My mind was still focused on the story however. A small part of me regretted the choice of ending. Despite planning this from the start, I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't right, that it should end differently somehow…

I shook my head, blaming it on exhaustion.

A few minutes later and I'd switched the monitor off and stretched out on my bed. It was a quiet night, not much happening. I was looking forward to a good nights sleep, and then I could finish the damn story and start making plans for my next project.

That thought stuck with me well after sleep had taken hold and I'd tuned everything else out…

Sadly, fate had other plans, as I awoke soon after. Initially I kept my eyes closed, however the unfamiliar sounds that greeted my awakening senses roused me fully and I risked opening them to glance about the room.

It was brighter then when I'd fallen asleep, the light seeping in through the curtains of my room indicating that it was likely morning. So I'd been out at least a couple of hours.

The sounds finally pierced my brain and I cringed slightly at the realization. The loud pattering of rain on the tin roof of our house…The loud rushing of wind sweeping through the trees, and after a few moments the low rumble as thunder rolled in.

I blinked slowly, willing my eyes to focus, it was a clear starry night when I'd gone to bed…how long had I been out?

My eyes settled on the clock on my bedside table, the screen was blank, shifting slightly, I glanced about the room. The various lights from my computer, TV and DVD players were absent.

Power outage…Just what I damn well needed…

I wasn't bothered by the darkness, even if I did prefer to sleep with the TV on, however it was more the annoyance that I'd have to reset everything once the power returned that bothered me.

"Screw it." I muttered, not willing to wait out the storm. Instead I rolled over and closed my eyes. It wouldn't be hard to just sleep through it, I could hassle over the details in the morning…

Barely a minute had ticked by before I noticed a light shining through my eyelids, something bright…Guess power was back already.

Despite my better judgment, I opened my eyes. And frowned as I spotted my clock, it was still dark. But the room was lit up like usual, meaning something was back on…

I risked a glance about the room, and my eyes settled on my computer monitor. Somehow it had not only turned back on, but had power running to it…I could only blink stupidly as I took in the details, a word document was open as well. I'd closed all of them before bed…Maybe it was the power cut, maybe it had thrown the computer out slightly?

Snatching up my glasses case from the bed side table, I quickly slipped them back on and pulled myself into a sitting position.

The text heading the document only confused me further.

_Divided and Conquered_

_Chapter One_

That was the name of the story I'd been working on, but why was it on chapter one? I was up to chapter thirty by now…

I don't know why, but my gaze dipped downwards, focusing on the computer box briefly. The green light that indicated the computer was actually on and powered was absent…Which meant the computer was off, yet here it was, with a document open…

"You're losing it Simon…Dreaming no doubt." I commented, idly removing my glasses once again. That had to be it, I was dreaming about the story or something…Weird way to dream about it, but hey, I've had crazier…

Before I could go back to sleep though, I spared another glance at the screen, oddly enough even without my glasses the text was still visible. The first paragraph caught my eye…

It detailed me waking up to a storm, one that hadn't been there when I'd gone to sleep…Waking up to find my computer acting strangely.

I felt my heart rate quicken as I reread the text. "I didn't write that…" It was then I noticed more text literally appearing before my eyes, detailing my disbelief at what I was reading, the confusion that I was feeling was being put on the page before me. My confusion as to what was appearing on the screen was typed up in vivid detail as well.

A thought crossed my mind, and the story penned itself faster. Indicating I though this was a dream, and that I was contemplating trying to wake myself up.

"Damn that's creepy…" I muttered, and sure enough the comment appeared on the screen. I licked my lips, suddenly noting my mouth was dry. This was well beyond creepy.

I'd had creepy dreams before, who didn't have nightmares, but this was so, unusual, so vivid. It was like I was actually awake and seeing this…

Suddenly a new line of text appeared, and, unable to resist I kept reading.

_A chilling voice suddenly whispers in you're ear…Its words are little more then an inaudible mumble, but whatever it says chills you to the bone…_

A heartbeat later, I almost jumped off my bed when a cold voice assaulted my ears, the chill it sent down my spine lingering long after it spoke. "Wake up…Wake up…" I mumbled to myself, now well and truly freaked out by how wild my imagination had decided to be tonight. Out of instinct I brought my hand up and smacked my palm against my forehead.

I was shocked, and annoyed when a sharp pain ripped through my skull and wrist from the contact, the blow dazing me for a moment.

Blinking, I glanced back at the screen, and was horrified to note the text was still there, still appearing at a rapid rate.

I closed my eyes, still not convinced I was awake, but refusing to read whatever was appearing regardless. Had this been under different circumstances, I'd have been taking notes, this sounded like a damn good story idea to what little of my mind took the time to think about it…I was a fan of the dark, horror stories, and this was shaping up to be a good one, a possessed computer that was writing reality? Heck yeah!

But, no this was really happening, and it was creeping me the hell out!

Finally I risked opening my eyes again, and was grateful to find the computer had somehow turned off again, the story gone but not forgotten. I was alone in the half light of the morning once again.

"I knew it was just a dream…" I chuckled uneasily, the throbbing in my forehead a grim reminder that I was either far from dreaming, or losing my grip on my sanity…

'Like you had a grip on it to begin with.' I thought with a roll of my eyes. Before focusing on the situation at hand, well I was wide awake now. That dream enough to put me on edge…

Fumbling about in the dark, I retrieved my flashlight and flipped it on. Idly casting a glance about my bedroom. Nothing was out of the ordinary, my pet cockatiel was sound asleep in his cage, everything else was scattered about where I'd left it.

I shook my head, reminding myself that it was just a bad dream. A drink would settle my nerves. Then it was back to bed. I could take notes on this tomorrow and maybe turn it into a new story!

That prospect brightened my mood, and I soon set off for the fridge.

* * *

_It was during my hunt for something to quench my third, that I realized the unsettling night was far from over; in fact it had only begun…_

I frowned as I waved my flashlight about, scanning over the contents of the fridge. There were various types of soft drink I could crack open. A bottle of pepsi max on the top shelf caught my eye, but I looked past it, focusing on the half bottle of chocolate milk I'd brought a few days ago and had cracked open earlier that night.

"No more milk before bed." I mumbled, blaming it for my…Episode, earlier. A lot of people claimed cheese and the like could induced weird dreams, maybe my trigger was flavored milk or something.

Finally I gave up the hunt and just stole the pepsi bottle, no one would miss it, I was the only one that drunk it after all. And damn if I didn't need something to calm my frazzled nerves.

_"Simon…"_  My ears perked up at the sound of someone calling my name, I could barely hear it over the pounding rain and the howling wind, but it was there. A moment later I heard the voice again.

"Hmm?" I idly nudged the fridge door closed and spun on my heel, assuming the storm had woken one of my parents too.

As I spun around however, everything seemed to happen at once. The storm suddenly stopped, no it didn't just ease or calm. It just, vanished, the rain, the thunder, all of it just instantly ceased.

As I completed my turn, flashlight snapping up to try and spot who had spoken to me, I found myself plunged into an unnatural darkness. The flashlight couldn't pierce the sudden gloom around me, and the kitchen had vanished. All I saw was pitch black in all directions.

I slowly spun on the spot, noting that literally everything was gone. "The hell?" I gave my light a light whack, before tipping it upwards. The bright beam of light dazzled my eyes; I was quick to drop it again.

"You've done well…" A chilling voice reached my ears, and I shivered, instinctively snapping around to face the direction it had come from, naturally I found nothing but darkness.

"Who's there?" I called; the voice scratched a nerve, like I knew it but couldn't place it. All I knew was it wasn't my parents…

"What's the matter…Don't recognize," Suddenly a shape burst from the shadows, causing me to leap back a step in shock, my eyes widened as I met the glowing red eyes of the figure. Spotted the sharpened teeth. "ME!" It snapped, grinning wildly as it saw the shock register in my expression.

"Wh-What the hell!" I whispered as a dozen emotions fought for dominance in my mind. Disbelief, shock, horror, outright fear. Others flashed through my mind, but they moved so quickly I couldn't process them all.

Of course I recognized the figure. The Nightmare as I'd come to refer to it…The horrific monster I'd conjured up in my head, and had put to paper when I wrote my story.

My fright slowly began to subside as I dwelled on that notion. Dreaming, I was still dreaming…Ha, jeeze I was NOT having a good night, was I…"What are you doing here?" I asked slowly, deciding that if I couldn't wake up, I might as well play along…Damn this thing was even more terrifying then I'd imagined…

"You finally did it! You finally finished the story! Congratulations!" I stayed silent, not sure what the hell was going on anymore. "But, I'm afraid you're role isn't complete…" It fixed me with another glare that caused my blood to freeze in the veins. Even as my heart started to beat faster and I tried to back away from that horrible gaze, I found myself rooted to the spot.

"You wrote the play…Now all I demand is that you play you're, part..." With a dark chuckle it shifted backwards, vanishing into the shadows once again. Though even as it disappeared, leaving me alone, I could still hear its voice on the non existent wind. "Enjoy you're fantasy while it lasts…It'll be you're last!"

I'm not sure what happened after that…Suddenly I felt light headed, my eyes forced themselves closed, and I was simply forced back to sleep. A part of me figured that was the end of this surreal nightmare. That I was finally waking up.

How I WISH that was the case…


	2. Waking Up To Reality

I wasn't sure how long I lingered in that dark place, how long it was before I finally came too, or even if it had been real in the first place. A large portion of my brain had already put it off as a bad dream, though a small part of my mind kept knocking, reminding me that I was quite awake and could feel everything at the time, the hard plastic of my flashlight, the chill of the pepsi bottle I'd retrieved, the pain in my skull from that stupid wakeup attempt.

I tuned it out however as a weak groan escaped me, consciousness returning slowly. Again the first thing I noted was light against my eyelids, but I ignored it this time, the faint calling of birds in the distance, and the sound of trees swaying in a light breeze confirming what belief that I was still safe in my bed.

Stretching slightly, I winced at the ache in my legs, an ache that rapidly spread throughout my body. Obviously I hadn't slept comfortably last night…Which wasn't much of a surprise, I wasn't exactly a peaceful sleeper, and after that nightmare.

My peaceful wakeup was interrupted by a loud thump, and I winced instinctively, the sound was familiar, like someone taking a axe to a tree, the loud cracking impact came again a few moments later.

I offered a curse as I attempted to roll over, blaming the sound on our neighbours. They never could do things at a reasonable hour, or quietly…

Naturally it came as a very big shock when I felt something unfamiliar against my check. Instead of the soft fabric of the pillow I expected, it was rough and irritated the skin. Finally I opened my eyes, curiosity overriding my desire to continue sleeping.

Something green? I blinked a few times to focus my eyes, and was surprised to find I was staring at grass, vibrant green grass. "The hell?" I mumbed groggily, senses rapidly returning as the shock from the previous night started to well up anew. Lifting my head, I cast my gaze about uneasily, noting that I was in fact not in my bed anymore, or even in my house. Instead I appeared to be in the yard or something. Glancing about more carefully, I noted that was wrong as well.

As far as the eye could see was grass, and trees, dozens upon dozens of trees in all directions. Closer inspection revealed the branches were weighed down by apples. So that cleared up what kind of trees they were (Not that I cared)

Slowly I forced myself upright and onto my feet, both confused and somewhat terrified. After all, the nearest farm to my house was a good few kilometres away. It wasn't like I could have started sleep walking or something; I'd never done that once in my life. Why start now?

I slowly drifted towards one of the trees and pressed my back to it as I tried to piece together what I was seeing. The rough bark scraped at my back through my shirt, once again proving this wasn't a dream. If I could feel, then it was real.

However what other explanation was there? It was impossible that I could just get and walk here, and it was even less likely I'd been moved, I was a light sleeper, woke up if someone so much as opened my bedroom door. I doubt I'd sleep through someone dragging me out of my bed.

So my only logical conclusions was this was a crazy dream that just wouldn't leave me alone…Or that, incident during the night was quite real…

I started laughing at that, slowly at first, but soon it grew louder and more, insane as the seconds ticked by. "R-Right…Yeah…" I mumbled as the laughter faded. "A creature you dreamt up shows up in the dead of night, snatches you from you're home and drop you miles away from it…Yeahhhh." I chuckled again, weaker this time. Either I had well and truly lost my mind, or my life just got turned upside down by my own creation.

'Was that even possible? No, no it wasn't! Get ahold of yourself Simon!' I shook my head, forcing the creeping dread back down for a moment, there was a perfectly rational explanation for this.

Hell there was one hell of a storm last night. Maybe I got struck by lighting or something…Yeah that wasn't' likely either…

I winced again as my thoughts were interrupted by another cracking sound, louder then the previous ones. I glanced about uneasily, the sound indicated I wasn't alone, and worse whatever (or whoever) else was out here seemed to be getting closer.

Finally I risked a glance around the tree I was leaning against, not surprising there was more and more trees for miles around, but this direction I saw something else. Something that made my brain's insanity plea even more likely…

Given it was a farm, it wasn't  _too_ surprising to see that a horse was roaming the area. Well, a pony I guess, it wasn't that big. That didn't bother me; it was the details that bothered me. For one, the pony was wearing a cowboy hat, tugged low over its face as though to block out the sun.

Someone's idea of a joke maybe? Maybe that was the sound? The poor thing couldn't see where it was going and kept crashing into trees? No, I kept studying it, thankful that due to my position it hadn't spotted me yet.

Its mane had a hair tie at the end, almost turning the flowing hair into a pony tail (Pun not intended), again it was weird but I didn't really care to dwell on it, the blond coloured mane tied up like that, combined with the hat looked creepily familiar though.

Bright tan fur covered it almost from head to hoof. That was the first sign that something was wrong, the colour wasn't exactly strange but it just looked, off somehow. I had only seen a few horses up close, but the fur colour just looked far to bright and colourful on the animal.

I watched it cautiously still trying in vain to place why it looked so annoyingly familiar.

My question was answered when the pony wandered close to one of the trees, spun on its heel and promptly delivered a sharp kick with its hind legs to the bark, causing the cracking sound I'd been hearing, and resulting in a handful of apples falling from the braches, most of which ended up in carefully placed baskets around the base of it. And the few that missed were soon in their places as the pony easily picked them up in its mouth and dropped them into the baskets.

By this point my eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, during the brief kick I'd spotted the one thing that was truly out of place and that confirmed my fears.

On the ponies flank was three red marks, a tattoo almost of three apples.

Without pausing for thought I ducked back behind the tree again and placed a hand over my mouth as I felt torn between yelling in terror as recognition kicked in, and from laughing insanely again. Any sound I did make I managed to stifle as I leaned against the tree for support. Slowly my legs grew numb and I slid into a sitting position.

Holy…Hell…There was no mistaking it, the pony looked exactly like Applejack. And certainly had her apple bucking skills…But was that possible? Was this someone's idea of a joke? Was it my mind playing tricks on me?

I couldn't think of an answer, and didn't have time to keep pondering the dozens of questions that were springing up and vying for attention in my head, as a loud crack assaulted my ears, and I felt a sharp vibration as something hit the tree.

A moment later a second crack sounded, and a flash of pain lanced through my skull as one of the apples fell from the tree and struck me on the head. "Gah, damn it!" I hissed, forgetting the fact that the person that had just kicked the tree was likely within hearing distance by this point.

A hand jumped to my head and idly swept through my hair, before dropping down into my –slightly blurred- field of vision. There was no blood on my fingers, that was a good sign. Though the bruise I was going to have, not to mention the headache, made the small stroke of luck feeling less lucky.

"I swear Rainbow, if you're sleepin' in one of my trees again…" My eyes widened when I heard faint steps drawing closer, accompanied by an accented voice. A voice that I knew all too well at this point.

The rest of the words were drown out as I started to panic again, eyes darting about in search of a rapid way to escape before I was found, I really didn't want to know how Applejack would react to my sudden appearance…After all I was pretty much an alien here, if here really was were I thought it was.

I didn't have any options! If I just picked a direction and ran, she would no doubt spot me, and I wasn't fit enough to outrun a damn horse, especially one like Applejack. I couldn't climb the tree, I'd never done that before and it would take to long even if I managed to succeed.

My desperate attempts to hide were canceled when my eyes snapped around and my gaze met the bright green eyes that were staring back at me. "…Crap…" I hissed under my breath, which I failed to noticed had stopped right after I spoke.

Several tense seconds passed, the only visible sign that Applejack was still, well moving was the slow change in her eyes, the way the pupils grew wider with each beat of my rapid heart rate.

Now out of options, I did the one thing I could think of. Naturally I jumped to my feet (which resulted in the pony leaping back a few steps, the first movement we'd both made since encountering one another), picked a random direction, and promptly ran as fast as I could go.

* * *

Somehow, I still not entirely sure how, but I managed to lose the equally shocked pony in the trees, whether she'd actually tried to follow me or not I couldn't say for certain, all I knew was that I didn't stop running until my legs ached, my lungs burned and I simply could no move another step.

Stumbling to a halt, I doubled over, hands on knees as I gasped for breath and tried to get my brain to work properly. "Okay…Don't panic…Don't…panic." I gasped between sharp intakes of breath.

Despite my words I felt my heart beat faster still, and my mind was scrambling for control as again dozens of thoughts and emotions rushed through my mind. "Oh god, I'm freaking out!" I gasped, my breathing growing more desperate as I tried to digest the situation.

I was well beyond thinking this was a dream, the pain my body was going through after that. But that only made me panic further, I was out of rational explanations, this had to be real!

Slowly, I managed to regain control, barely. My breathing slowly returned to normal and my thoughts that were running a thousand a second slowed to the point that I was able to actually start processing my thoughts. "What…The…hell is going on?" I asked myself, naturally I couldn't come up with an answer.

Slowly my thoughts were pulled back to the previous night (was it the previous night? How long had I been asleep anyway?). The last words the Nightmare had said before, this happened.

" _You've wrote the play, now play your, part."_

Given it was the only explanation for this crazy situation, I replayed the words over and over again, hoping that something would click in my head and solve this mystery.

"'Play my part?' What did that mean?" I repeated, my hand subconsciously moving to my head and rubbing the sore spot where I'd been struck earlier, all this thinking was making the pain return.

Slowly a new train of thought entered my mind. "You wrote the play…" I continued to repeat. Did it mean the story I'd wrote?

Naturally I couldn't get a moment's peace, as the sound of voices drifted to my ears, bringing me back to reality. Again I found myself pressed up against a tree, hoping to avoid being seen (cause it worked so well the first time!)

"I'm tellin' ya. I saw somethin'!" I recognized the accent, Applejack. Oh great, not only was she following me, but judging by her words, she wasn't alone.

"Are you sure you didn't get hit on the head or something?" I frowned slightly, the voice was different, didn't have the same accent, but still struck me with déjà vu.

"For the tenth time, I saw it, I know I did. It ran off this way." Now I could pick up on the faint crunching of grass under hooves.

"Alright, alright I'll help you find you're…Thing." The second voice responded, a slight hint of irritation behind its tone.

'Well, you got the wings, you fly up and have a look aroun' from above." My eyes widened a touch at the comment. Great, that meant whoever Applejack had enlisted was a Pegasus, I couldn't get away that easily, or hide that well if they could fly…

"No sweat! I can scan this whole farm in ten seconds flat!" And that was when another wave of panic set in. That line, the slightly arrogant tone…There was no mistaking who that was either.

"Rainbow Dash…" I whispered, my teeth gritting as panic seized control of my limbs and I began inching away from the sound of the two ponies. This was bad, at least with Applejack I could have simply hoped from tree to tree, eventually I'd have been caught, sure, but there was a slim chance of finding my way out of the farm, and getting some place secluded so I could think.

With Dash involved in the hunt though, there was no way I could slip away! She'd spot me easily, and she would catch me before I made it two feet.

_Snap!_

I froze, my body tensing as my foot landed on a fallen branch, snapping it under foot. "What was that?" One of the ponies hissed, I didn't stop to dwell on who it was, where they were, or anything else. I simply spun on my heel and attempted to start running again.

Of course the first thing I did was spin around and crash head first into one of the trees…

Stumbling back a few paces, I tried to blink away the stars that burst before my eyes. But the harder I tried, the worse it seemed to get.

With a weak groan I fell to the ground with a loud thud, the impact knocking me senseless. And swiftly afterwards, knocked me out entirely…All hopes of escaped fled with my senses as everything faded to black for the second time since my nightmare had started…

* * *

It only took them a moment to follow the sound of the loud crack to its source. And both ponies were equally shocked to find the odd creature sprawled out on the ground in a heap.

Neither were too willing to approach, not entirely sure what it was. Finally Applejack worked up the nerve to drift forwards. As she drew nearer, she noted it didn't react, it wasn't moving at all.

Cautiously, the earth pony nudged it with one hoof and leapt back a pace. Aside from a slight twitch, it didn't move.

"Whao, you weren't kidding…" Rainbow Dash said quietly, finally settling her hooves on the ground and landing next to her friend. "What, is it?"

"Beats me…Never seen anythin' like it before." Applejack replied, again moving a few steps closer and giving the odd creature a once over. There was, what appeared to be blood seeping from a cut on its forehead, a quick glance noted the tree a few steps away. "Looks like it knocked itself out."

"What do we do with it?" Rainbow asked, still keeping her distance and watching it from afar. "Suppose its something from the Everfree Forest?"

"Could be…But we can't just leave it out here…" Neither really wanted to get close. But given the circumstances they couldn't just leave it lying there. If it was dangerous then it would wake up and likely cause problems.

"Come on. Let's get it back to the farm. We can figure out what to do with it there…" The tan pony said, earning a grumbled response from her companion.

"…Fine, but how are we gonna move it?" Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but hesitated… That wasn't a question she could think of an answer too…


	3. Awkward Introductions

The first thing I noted when consciousness returned was the pain in my skull. With each beat of my heart it felt like someone slammed a hammer into the inside of my head. I couldn't help but cringe as each beat of the hammer made the pain behind my eyes intensify a little further.

I tried to move a hand to rub my forehead and felt a soft material rather then skin, lightly prodding it revealed it to be some kind of cloth like material, a bandage perhaps?

"Hey I think it's waking up." A voice abruptly came from my left resulting in another sharp flash of pain behind my eyes, it was quickly followed by a faint clopping sound which steadily grew louder and drew up on my right side. "It's movin' anyway," the voice on my left continued, as my brain began working again I noted it was a voice I recognized but couldn't place.

I risked opening my eyes a crack, only to swiftly snap them closed again when the room abruptly began spinning and my stomach abruptly lurched. A few seconds passed before my body calmed and I risked another peak.

Everything was a blur at first, only the hazy shadows and featureless blobs greeting me as I fought down another wave of nausea. Blinking a few times everything began to swim into focus, though it didn't make much more sense.

The wall was the first thing I caught sight off, dark coloured wood that reminded me of my bedroom though it was the a darker shade then the wood walls I was used to. Shifting my gaze to the left I couldn't see the source of the voice from a moment ago, instead I found myself staring at a window and the reddish sky beyond giving me the impression it was late afternoon.

My eyes moved to the right next, and found myself meeting the staring at a familiar orange coloured pony. I blinked a few more times in hopes that the image would go away. It didn't.

"You're real?" I asked quietly, the question directed more at myself then the pony. A chill ran through me as I stared at the pony that –up until a few hours ago- had been nothing more then a cartoon character. My heart started beating faster as panic set in, sadly as a result this led to my headache intensifying. Slowly my scattered thoughts were coming back together and I began to recall the reason for my pounding headache. I had run into Applejack, I ran in a panic…And everything after that was a blank.

Applejack's expression lit up very slightly when I spoke, her lips curling into a thin smile and her eyes widening a tiny bit. "'Course I am!" She stated with a slight nod of her head, again I winced as the sudden voice caused a fresh twinge of pain in my head.

"Great," I glanced away and focused on my current situation next, apparently I was on a bed of some description, how I got here or even why the pony had decided to be generous enough to put me here were questions I put aside for later. For now I was still trying to piece together my thoughts.

"You took quite a knock to the head there," she continued as though I hadn't spoken, her eyes never leaving my face as I focused my attention back on her. "You're lucky I was there to bring ya back to the farm, Rainbow wanted to leave you out there, said you were 'weird and probably dangerous.'" Her smile brightened a bit more, I forced myself to weakly return it.

"I suppose this is you're handy work as well?" My hand idly tapped the bandage wrapped around my forehead, I received a nod in response. "I appreciate it, given the circumstances I wouldn't blame you if you left me out there."

Applejack's smile faded in an instant and her eyes lost the friendly glimmer they had a moment ago. "That wouldn' have been right, leavin' a stranger hurt and helpless." There was a slight edge to her voice and her eyes narrowed very slightly. I couldn't help but wince as it seemed I'd just offended her with that comment.

"I meant no offense," I said quickly in hopes of defusing the situation before I wound up making it worse by accident. "I just meant that, well given I'm-"

"Funny lookin'?" A voice from the other side of the bed pitched in. My head snapped around to face them but again I only found myself looking at the window. A quiet cough finally brought my eyes down a few notches and I located the source of the voice.

Just shy of the edge of the bed was another pony. She was only about a third of the size of Applejack by my estimate which was no doubt why I'd not seen her sooner. Her coat was a bright yellow and her mane and tail was a crimson colour, topping off her attire was a pink bow set just behind her ears.

 _Applebloom_ , I bit my tongue as the name sprung to my lips as recognition set in. I was still getting used to the fact that this was all real and I doubted letting slip that I was from another…planet, dimension? where they were nothing more then cartoon characters wouldn't help my situation any. Another wave of panic set in, damn this wouldn't stop! I must have lost my damn mind! I forced the dread back down and swallowed the lump in my throat as my fear started to make me feel ill.

No, I couldn't let panic take hold, this was real and I had to deal with it. Easier said then done of course but I had to try. For now it was probably best I just play it safe and keep my knowledge of Equestria to myself, at least until I could figure out how, why, and for what purpose I had wound up here. If I let on that I knew about their world, dimension or whatever this counted as. I'd probably wind up in the pony equivalent of Arkham Asylum or something.

I shook my head slightly as the hammer inside my skull began pounding away again, my rampant thoughts not helping in the least. That brought my attention back to the fact that I had been staring at Applebloom for a good few seconds without reaction. By now her eyes were wide as dinner plates and she was lightly scrapping one hoof against the floor as she looked anywhere but directly at me.

"I would have gone with, 'a stranger that you know nothing about' but I guess that works too." I responded quickly and with a smile in hopes of making up for lost time. The filly still didn't meet my gaze and continued studying the wall.

Sighing under my breath I focused back on Applejack, her expression had returned to its original neutral state by now. "Again though, thank you for the aid," I did my best to pick my words, hoping to avoid another awkward moment. "I guess I owe you one…Miss?" The orange pony's eyes lit up again and she lightly plucked the hat from her head as she dipped it downwards in some form of respectful nod.

"Applejack's the name, that there's Applebloom," the pony nodded to her sibling on the other side of the bed. "And you are?"

"Simon," I said after a moments pause as I pretended to take note of the names. "Strange names if you don't mind my saying so." The orange pony's lips curled upwards in a slight smile once again.

"So is, 'Simon'," she responded, I couldn't resist a smile of my own.

"Touché," Applejack's head tilted slightly. "Never mind."

Slipping her hat back on, her face grew serious once again. "Where exactly do you come from if you don't mind me askin'? never seen anythin' like ya in Equestria before."

"Equestria, you mean this isn't Earth?" I sat up abruptly at the new, causing both ponies to move back a few paces. A frown darkened my expression when Applejack shook her head in response.

"Earth? never heard of it." My frown deepened as I let the words sink in. "How exactly did you get here?" I lifted my head and focused on Applejack again.

"I don't rightly know," I responded slowly, this time the confusion in my tone and expression were genuine. "I was home and there was a storm. Something approached me, some creature I didn't recognize. I blacked out and woke up here. I don't really know how it happened or why I wound up here…"

Applejack's eyes began to narrow slightly and her ears perked up and stood perfectly straight. "I wish I could tell you more, maybe when my head stops pounding and I can think clearer I'll be able to remember more." In truth the ache had faded to the point that I barely noticed it anymore, but I really didn't feel like trying to explain the situation that I barely understood myself. Her eyes narrowed a touch further, I had a feeling she wasn't buying my story, thankfully her smile returned a moment later and her head bobbed slightly in a nod.

"It hardly matters, you're here now. We gotta find a way to get you home though, I doubt you want to stay here too long." she responded slowly, her voice growing subdued and quiet as one hoof moved to lightly tap her chin. "Maybe Twilight could help you…she's good with all that magic stuff."

"Twilight?" I quirked an eyebrow again, feigning ignorance as to the name of her friend.

"Oh! She's a friend of mine, she knows a lot about magic, spends all her time readin' books on the stuff. If anyone can find you a way home it'll be here."

"Well its better then nothing, hopefully she knows of a way to get me home." Applejack nodded again, smiling brightly. I wish I shared her enthusiasm. Chances are if my memories were right and I was dragged to Equestria by a creature of my own creation. It wouldn't be as simple as just clicking my heels and saying 'there's no place like home'.

"I sent Rainbow out to find her and the others, she should be back soon." The pony's voice broke into my thoughts. At first I just nodded, but as the words sunk in I jolted slightly.

"Wait, what, you're telling people about me?" My thoughts came to an abrupt halt at the news. Being found by Applejack was bad enough, but if they were spreading it all over Equestria that I was here…oh man nothing good could come of that!

"Only a few friends, were gonna need their help to figure out what's goin' on." The orange earth pony responded quickly eyes widening a touch at my reaction.

I forced myself to relax, my shoulders slumping slightly as the shock started to fade. "Sorry, I'd just rather not create a panic or something. Judging by the conversation so far I'd wager humans aren't a common sight around here."

The pony seemed set to object to my words, but after a brief hesitation she shook her head. "True, if word got about it might create a bit of a fuss." I forced myself not to grin, let's not forget the incident with Zercora Applejack. "But I doubt we can keep ya hidden forever, somepony'll figure it out eventually."

"Well, with luck I won't be here long enough for that to happen. I'd rather not be away from home any longer then necessary." As fun as it was to find myself in Equestria and talking to Applejack, I couldn't ignore the fact that this wasn't home, that I didn't belong here…

"Well don't you worry about that sugarcube, we'll get ya home in no time flat!" Again she seemed so sure of her response and I found myself wishing I was that confident. My mind naturally jumped to the worst conclusions most of the time and this was no different. I couldn't help but think even IF I got home, the Nightmare (you'd think after months of writing about the damn thing I'd have thought up a better name for it) would probably just drag me back, or probably just kill me for ruining its fun.

I was about to respond when a faint knocking sound reached my ears, and judging by the way Applejack's shot up hers too. "That must be Dash. You stay here and I'll go get the others." Knowing better then to argue, I simply remained in place as she started towards the door, Applebloom was quick to catch up and follow her out of the room, pausing only briefly to shoot me a glance before ducking out of sight.

I never was any good with kids…

* * *

Applejack was rather surprised to find only three of her friends waiting on the doorstep when she opened the door, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. "Evenin' girls, where's Twilight and Rarity?" She asked as her eyes moved to each face in turn before settling on Dash, she had asked all of them to attend so they could figure out what was happening.

Dash's eyes narrowed a touch and she briefly spared a glance towards the ceiling as she collected her thoughts, before exhaling a long sigh. "Rarity is busy with some dress order again, says she can't leave until it's done...as for Twilight.' One of her front hooves moved to scratch the back of her head. "I don't really know. She wasn't home, neither was Spike."

"She's probably at Zercora's again." Applejack voiced the most logical conclusion, though it didn't explain why her dragon companion was missing too as he rarely if ever went with her into the forest. She generally made those trips alone or with one of the other ponies. "She'll turn up."

Everypony mumbled some form of agreement before focusing on the situation. "So who's this stranger we've been hearing about?" Pinkie spoke first, ending the brief silence that had descended.

"I don't rightly know, it was talkin' earlier, said somethin' about a place called Earth, best I could gather is its either far away or some place else entirely, beyond that it wasn' willing to say much, got real nervous when I mentioned telling you girls though." Applejack began to trail off as she recalled her conversation with the, whatever it was.

"I don't like this," Rainbow pitched in. "A creature nopony's ever heard of pops up out of nowhere in the middle of you're farm and doesn't want any pony knowing about it?"

"A-are you sure it's safe? W-what if it's dangerous?" Fluttershy spoke up next, her eyes growing wider with each passing second.

"If it's from another place that means it doesn't have any friends!" Pinkie spoke up last much like Fluttershy her eyes widened, though instead of looking panicked she was literally bouncing on the spot. "Oh! We could throw a party to welcome it!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash simply rolled their eyes at the suggestion, Pinkie could use anything as an excuse to throw a party. "Now hold on a second! Like I was sayin' it doesn't like the idea of ponies knowing about it, so no parties." The pink pony stopped bouncing and pouted. "Something's not right about it though, it seemed rather confused about being here, but it was takin' the news pretty well in my opinion."

The ponies fell silent as they digested the comment. "Think it's spying on us or something?" Dash once again spoke first. "Maybe this 'Earth' place is planning something and it came here to watch us."

"Oh, my," Fluttershy gulped as her head drifted back and vanished behind her mane. "What did we do t-to them?"

"Now calm down!" Applejack cut in before they started jumping to conclusions. "I doubt it's a spy and if it is then there ain't nothin' we can do until we prove it. For now we'll just have to take its word that it has no idea how it got here and try to send it home, I figured Twilight could help there…"

"But she's not here." Dash finished for her.

"Exactly," the group lapsed into silence once again as they contemplated what to do with the small amount of information they had to go on.

* * *

After a few minutes of waiting I forced myself to get off the bed and back onto my feet. Thankfully the pain in my head had subsided to a tolerable level, giving me a little freedom to think with.

Sadly this resulted in my mind sinking into a number of different thought processes, and before I knew it I was pacing back and forth in the small room while I waited for Applejack to return.

The thoughts occupying my mind for the moment were of home, and the number of possibility's that awaited me if Twilight could in fact send me back without incident. Did time pass differently there? Was I only gone a few hours or would it have been years since I'd vanished? Had I vanished at all or was I in a coma or dead or something?

Every plot of every self insert story I'd ever read played out in my mind. I could have been dead, asleep or any other number of possibilities. Hell maybe nothing at all would happen and I'd return at the exact time I left, unchanged.

Maybe I couldn't return at all.

I finally stopped pacing as I reached the window for what felt like the hundredth time. My hands came to rest on the frame as I let my eyes wander along with my thoughts. By now the sun was creeping down below the far away mountains and casted a beautiful orange glow over the rapidly blackening sky.

A smile touched my lips as I studied the landscape, the acres of apple trees, the distant mountains; it was like staring at a painting.

It didn't occupy my thoughts for long though and I soon drifted back to the 'what if's' of my return home. What would my parents think if I simply vanished in the middle of the night, only to pop up an hour or even days later? How the hell would I explain this, this mess?

My heart began to ache as I continued to think of home, since waking up here I hadn't really had a chance to just stop and think, everything had been a happening faster then I liked.

What if I couldn't go back? So many of those stories usually resulted in this being a one way trip, was this going to be one of them? The picturesque landscape started to blur as tears invaded my eyes. I might not have had the best life ever (due to my own choices) but that didn't mean I was happy to give it up.

Closing my eyes tightly, I felt my hands clench into fists as a mixture of emotions began to vie for control. Anger at the creature for bringing me here, sadness from my thoughts and the very real possibility that I'd just lost my life, my family for good, and confusion as to the how's and why's of my predicament all assaulted me at once and it took all of my self control not to let one or the other take hold.

Vaguely I heard steps drawing closer to the room, and I forced my emotions back down, barely before opening my eyes again. Blinking away the tears I turned to face the door just as Applejack entered, closely followed by a small group of familiar faces.

The first pony to follow here had a cyan blue coat and a rainbow coloured mane and tail, her red coloured eyes were narrowed and she fixed me with a glare the second she came into view, Rainbow Dash.

The second literally bounced into the room, bright pink in colour with a similarly coloured mane that looked almost like cotton candy with the way it was puffed up, her eyes widened at the sight of me and her lips curled into a cheerful smile as she stopped hopping and seemed to study me, Pinkie Pie.

The third was more of a yellow colour her face mostly hidden behind her mane, I caught only a glimpse of one eye before she ducked further into the mass of pink hair and vanished behind Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy.

I did my best to prevent the frown that wanted to form, there were two ponies missing, and one of them was the one I was hoping to meet. "You're friends I presume?" I asked Applejack as I clasped my hands behind my back, it took al of my self control to keep a neutral expression as they stared (or glared in the case of Dash) at me. On one hand my heart was beating a little faster and a tinge of excitement crept into my mind upon seeing more of the mane six, but on the other the familiar 'oh god this is real!' panic was setting in.

"Yep, this here's Rainbow Dash, that's Pinkie Pie, and behind Dash is Fluttershy." Applejack nodded to each in turn, Pinkie gave another bright smile and began bouncing again, Fluttershy somehow managed to vanish even further behind Dash, and Rainbow simply narrowed her eyes further and squared her shoulders in what appeared to be an attempt to intimidate me, sad thing was it worked.

I let my frown form properly this time as my gaze passed over the group. "It's nice to meet you all, the names, Simon." I offered a slight shrug, not really sure what else to say. My gaze instead shifted back to Applejack. "You mentioned someone named 'Twilight'?"

"She couldn't make it," Rainbow cut in. "Business elsewhere." I met her gaze for a moment, but her stare quickly won out and I found myself glancing towards my shoes.

"I see," the disappointment in my voice was genuine this time.

"Don't worry she'll be here in the mornin' and we'll get ya home." Applejack said quickly as Rainbow moved to respond, they exchanged a brief glance, before the pegasus clamped her mouth shut. "In the mean while, ya can stay here the night."

My eyes jumped back to the orange pony at the comment, judging by the determination in her eyes I had a feeling this was a choice made for me. "That's kind of you, but I think I've caused enough hassle for one da-"

"Oh! You can stay with me! We can have a sleep over!" Pinkie Pie cut in, her words tumbling out in a rush. My eyes briefly darted back to Applejack, who only offered a helpless shrug.

"Not like I have anywhere else to go right now…"

* * *

After a brief debate between Pinkie and Applejack, it was finally decided (much to the pink pony's dismay) that I would stay at the farm for the night. For one they actually had a few spare beds in case relatives visited, and for another Pinkie happened to live in the middle of Ponyville. Which upon learning was a nearby town, I grew quite adamant about wanting to avoid for fear of creating a panic (In truth I was ready to use anything as a polite excuse to get out of sleeping in the same house as Pinkie Pie, I doubt I'd ever get any sleep).

The party pony was still determined to plan a welcoming party for me and no one could dissuade her, though Applejack had promised that she would try and get her to keep it small and secret for my benefit. With luck I'd be back home before she got the chance.

Finally things had calmed down, mostly. Rainbow Dash was still giving me dark glares and Fluttershy was hiding behind anypony that she could and only stealing the occasional glance before ducking out of sight again, it was hard not to find her behaviour somewhat cute in my opinion.

They asked a few questions, mostly about the details of how I ended up in Sweet Apple Acres, and I told them most of the details, naturally withholding the information about the Nightmare (I'd described it as some demon creature that I had nightmares about once or twice) actually being something I created…somehow.

Luckily due to the late hour before they started talking to me, I wasn't interrogated for long and they soon departed, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.

Again I found myself leaning against the window and staring out at the stars, there really wasn't anything else to do.

I tried my best to focus on the stars, but eventually my mind turned back to home, and to the question of whether I'd ever see it again…


	4. Guilty Before Proven Innocent

The night was, boring to say the least. My usual choice of playing video games and writing until I tired were sorely missed, and there weren't even any decent books I could read (I suppose I could have asked Applejack for something but the odds she had books on hoof were highly doubtful.

In the end I simply found myself studying the stars and trying to bore myself to sleep with repetitive thoughts. Soon after I made a game out of counting the number of planks that made up the ceiling…I was on my fourteenth round when I finally dozed off.

My dreams were far from peaceful though, my fears from earlier in the night -of never seeing home again- resurfaced and taunted me throughout the night. By some miracle though, I was able to get at least a few hours sleep before reality decided to come knocking, literally.

I always was a light sleeper, all it took was someone to open my bedroom door and I was wide awake on a normal day. So naturally being in unfamiliar territory and on edge after the previous day, I was even more easily awoken. As was proven when a loud thumping on the door to my temporary room almost caused me to tumble out of bed.

After disentangling myself from the blankets, I groaned under my breath, I initially didn't respond, instead trying to shake off the lingering sleep and gain my bearings, another, more forceful round of knocking halted my attempts to comfortably wake up.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I growled quietly, eyes finally cracking open as I realized sleep wasn't going to be an option anymore. How long had I been asleep anyway?

"Breakfast is ready, don't take all day or you'll miss out!" A high pitched and childish voice called from the other side of the door, closely followed by the faint clopping of tiny hooves clopping on the wood outside.

"Breakfast?" I repeated, my head darting upwards in spite of my exhaustion. I hadn't really thought about food the day before given everything that had happened, but now as my mind came to life and started focusing, the familiar pangs of hunger made its presence known.

As more of my senses returned the sweet smell of pancakes reached my nose, amongst other things that I didn't readily recognize. "Well at least they have something I can eat." I thought with a weak smile, before casting the blankets aside and forcing myself to my feet.

Almost as soon as my feet touched the floor I felt the all too familiar head rush, my body swayed slightly as the sudden change in position threw me off balance for a moment. It passed within a few seconds though and I forced myself to start moving towards the door.

Arriving at the kitchen, I noticed how, similar everything looked to back home. There was Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Mac seated at the table, plates piled high with various types of foods, some I recognized others not so much.

"Morning." I forced out as I awkwardly approached the table and took a seat. Although I'd had plenty of time to adjust the day before and during my long hours spent thinking before falling asleep, I still felt a mix of giddy excitement and tense dread as I studied the trio of ponies. This was like some kind of surreal dream, one I wanted to enjoy but found myself simply unnerved by.

"Howdy partner!" Applejack greeted cheerfully, a bright smile working its way onto her face for a moment before she resumed devouring the plate of food before her, I quickly averted my gaze and instead fell into the first vacant seat I saw, which just so happened to be right next to Big Macintosh.

Despite all the food on offer and the unused plate set before me (It seems they were expecting me) I found myself instead studying the red coloured colt seated next to me. I was hardly small back home, being just above six foot, however even then he towered over me while seated. I felt quite small and insignificant next to Big Mac, and while he seemed to pay me no mind at all, I still felt a cold dread creep into my veins as I focused solely on the table and did my best not to move too much, I did not fancy getting a hoof upside the head from him…

Thankfully he seemed to ignore me and after a few tense seconds I risked moving a few spare pancakes onto my plate, whereupon they were swiftly drown in syrup and jam. I ignored the glances I received at my high quantity diet and instead dug in with as much restraint as a starving wolf.

The next few minutes were thankfully silent, I'd expected more questions or even fearful glances, but luckily it seems the ponies were either used to me, or were better at hiding their unease then I was, on more then one occasion I caught myself staring awkwardly at one or another of the Apple family, still not fully believe this was real.

Eventually the food ran dry and I managed a satisfied sigh as I nudged the plate away and rested my arms on the table. "Thanks." I muttered uneasily, not entirely sure what else to say. Conversation had been non existent since I arrived, and I wasn't keen on breaking the silence, but I wasn't about to forget my manners, especially when seated next to a colt that could crush my head with the barest twitch of a hoof.

Unsurprisingly the silence continued and despite my better judgment I decided to press on. "So, what's the plan now?" I asked, hoping one of them would respond with something close to 'send you home'.

Applejack thankfully spoke up. "Same as any other day, there's apple bucking to do. Rainbow is gonna find Twilight and tell her to stop by. Until then though…" The orange pony trailed off, her eyes narrowing a touch as she studied me from across the table. I couldn't help but fidget slightly in my seat under those emerald orbs.

"I guess I'll just stay out of sight for now." I wrung my hands together as I broke eye contact and studied my fingers. "Not much else I can do without risking someone seeing me."

"Ya could help out around the farm." I shifted my gaze back to Applejack. "Plenty of work needs doin'."

I briefly considered declining, after all how did they expect me to apple buck? I was a gamer not a body builder, the best I could hope for was to wind up flat on my arse. However as I tried to think of a suitable way to say no, I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Given they'd given me shelter and put up with my presence without really knowing what I was, who I was or even if I was dangerous, it was hardly in my best interests to say no, wast it?

"I'll give it a shot," I conceded. "Given what I saw you doing yesterday though, I doubt I'll be much use."

* * *

Luckily for me, there were other jobs available besides bucking trees. After a few embarrassing attempts, Applejack instead gave me the job of separating the still healthy apples from the ripe ones. Ordinarily that would be Applebloom's job, but she had school today, leaving the task to me.

Still, it beat the heck out of breaking my legs kicking trees all day…Applejack was lucky she, she had years of practice to strengthen her legs, me not so much. Luckily the job she'd given me was simple and easy, tedious perhaps but it was within my skill range and kept me occupied until Twilight showed up and sent me home.

"So, this is what you do," I paused as Applejack delivered another hard kick to one of the trees, causing another shower of apples. "Kicking trees and collecting apples?" I'd long lost count of how many trees she'd actually bucked, but it had been easily an hour or two by now since we started.

"For the most part, yeah." The pony confirmed as we set about retrieving any stray apples and putting them in the baskets. "It might not seem like much to you, but it's a living." I couldn't help but chuckle at the comment as I idly tossed the last apple into the waiting basket.

"Well at least you HAVE a job," I chuckled quietly. "Back home, I'm not exactly doing anything with my life, not yet at any rate." I decided to leave out the 'and I'm perfectly okay with that' that was normally attached to the end of the sentence, it wasn't exactly true, but honestly I wasn't against staying in my room all day.

Still, it was nice to get out in the sun once in a while…as today was proving.

"Sometimes ya just gotta grab the bull by the horns." Applejack commented offhandedly, not bothering to even glance in my direction. "Ya can't just let life pass ya by forever."

The response made me pause for a few moments, before I simply shook my head and continued following the pony and doing my part. "That's…true." I said slowly, not entirely sure what to make of the statement.

Silence took hold once again after that brief exchange, and I found my mind wandering. Again the question of why the hell I was here sprung to mind, certainly my presence wasn't that important to the Nightmare's plans? If it was even half the creature I'd imagined then it could easily deal with the mane six, after all if one of the ponies died the elements would fail and it would be unbeatable.

So why bring me here? What did it hope to achieve by pulling a random human along for the ride?

The answer came sooner then I'd have preferred…

* * *

Another two hours had passed in relative silence, now and again one of us would make a comment or I'd ask a random question I already knew the answer too. Applejack was acting nice enough, though I had no idea whether she was genuinely being polite or whether she was just doing this to keep an eye on me I couldn't say. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but given the circumstances who could blame me?

I idly spared a glance skyward, a hand moving to wipe the sweat from my forehead as I studied the scattered clouds that had started to overcast the sky. "Looks like there might be some rain," I mentioned, surprised that I hadn't noticed the pegasi moving the clouds about.

"Shouldn't be, were not scheduled for a storm till tomorrow." I pulled my gaze away from the clouds at the response, an eyebrow arching as I studied the orange pony.

"Scheduled?"

"Yeah, the weather patrol booked a storm for tomorrow, they make and move the clouds where their needed. Why?" Applejack had a similar confused expression to my own by this point.

"They…make the clouds?" She nodded. "Alright then, so where did those come from?" I waved a hand towards the rapidly overcastting sky, glancing skyward once again I noted with a hint of unease that the number of clouds had doubled in a matter of seconds.

"Probably from the Everfree forest, tha' place isn't natural." Applejack cast a weary glance skyward as well. "Clouds blowin' about on their own, not right I tell ya.'

Despite myself, I couldn't help but whip around and give the pony a wide eyed glare at the comment. "That's not, natural? The clouds forming and moving where the wind blows them, isn't natural?" Again I received a nod, and a slight frown in response. "Damn this place is weird." I sighed, doing my best to sound surprised by this.

Whatever response Applejack had planned was cut short as a sudden gust of wind buffeted us and a familiar blue shape dropped to the ground a few feet away with a soft thud.

"There you are!" Rainbow Dash snapped the second her hooves touched the grass, voice laced with venom and eyes flashing dangerously as she fixed her attention solely on me.

Needless to say I didn't meet her gaze for very long. "You better start explaining yourself, and fast!" The pegasus continued as she took a step forward, I swiftly took one back.

"What's this abou' Dash?" Applejack cut in as the rainbow maned pony moved to speak again.

"What this is about is that Twi didn't come home last night." Both ponies exchanged a brief glance, before Rainbow Dash fixed me with another accusing glare. "Spike was helping Rarity yesterday and she went to Zecora's. She should have been back before dark, but she's still not home. No note or nothing."

I crossed my arms and finally forced myself to meet the pegasus' gaze. "And you're here yelling at me because…?" Her eyes narrowed sharply and I involuntarily gulped at the harshness of the glare, if looks could kill…

"It seems a little to convenient that you show up the exact same time Twilight goes missing, isn't it?" Again she glanced towards Applejack, likely looking for support.

Needless to say when both of them started staring at me, one looking ready to kill, the other simply concerned, I felt my nerves starting to fray. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you really think I had something to do with this? Why on earth would I do anything to you're friend…and how when I woke up here on the farm and ran into you two minutes later!" My voice raised a touch as I uncrossed my arms and waved one in the air in front of me. "I woke up, here!" I pointed to the ground. "I didn't have time to do anything before you two started chasing me!"

"How do we know he isn't lying to us?" Rainbow demanded as her eyes flicked to her orange coloured friend, then back to me. "He might not be alone either." My gaze shifted to Applejack as well, her eyes were starting to narrow as well, Dash's words sinking in and no doubt taking root.

"What would I gain by doing anything to Twilight? You said yourself she's probably the only one that can get me home!" I growled, my short temper rapidly reaching its limit. "I've been here helping Applejack all day, I don't know anything about you're friend, or anything else about this damn place beyond what you told me last night and this morning."

A faint rumble reached my ears, and I risked another glance skyward, the gray clouds had now completely overtaken the sky and were rapidly darkening. Something wasn't right about this…

My cloud gazing was interrupted when I felt a sharp jab to my stomach, glancing back down I found myself face to face with Rainbow Dash, whom had just poked me it seemed. "She's missing, and you show up at the exact same time, deny it all you want, but we know you have something to do with this."

A low growl escaped me as I batted her hoof away and took a step back. "Yeah, it's a bit suspect, but don't you think you'd be doing Twilight more good by retracing her steps, visiting this, Zercora and asking her if she actually did turn up yesterday? Rather then hanging out here and accusing me of stuff you have no proof of?" By this point I'd given up being diplomatic and started giving as good as I received, something I often did when frustrated.

Rainbow started to advance again, but was abruptly yanked backwards a few paces when Applejack grabbed a mouthful of her tail and sharply tugged. "Whoa there, he's got a point." She mumbled before letting go of the pegasus. "We need to find Twi first; we can deal with the rest of the details later."

"If there is a later!" Dash snapped, her eyes never leaving mine. "He could do away with more ponies by the time we find out what happened to her?" I felt my right eye twitch at the accusation. I know Dash was loyal and protective of her friends, and under any other circumstances I'd have sided with her in a flash, she made a lot of good points and for all I know I could have something to do with Twilight's sudden disappearance without even knowing, if the Nightmare could bring me here, who knew what else it could do…

But I wasn't about to admit that, not at this point in time. "You know what, screw it!" I suddenly yelled, causing both ponies to jolt slightly. "Call me what you will, think what you damn well like!" My eyes flicked to Applejack, who was staring at me with wide eyes. "Where does this, Zercora live?" I demanded, my manners evaporating along with my patience.

"In the Everfree forest, why?"

With a nod I spun on my heel and started walking away. "Hey, where do you think you're going!" I heard Rainbow Dash shout. I didn't even bother to turn around, favouring to just shout over my shoulder.

"You're friends missing and she's my only ticket home, I want to go home, so I'm going to find her. Follow me if you want, or try to stop me." Several seconds passed and I didn't get tackled to the ground or kicked in the head, so that was a good sign.

As I weaved through the trees however, I started to ponder what I'd just done, and felt my heart beat quicken. I just signed up to go into the Everfree forest…alone, to find a Twilight Sparkle…

What, the hell, was I thinking!

I ran a hand through my sweat soaked hair as I continued searching for the path that would lead me out of the farm and towards my goal, my mind still running through a million thoughts a second.

I had no knowledge of the area beyond what I'd seen in the show, I had no skills or even equipment to survive out in the forest. I was a gamer not a damn soldier! I wouldn't last five minutes in there! And yet here I was, despite all the fear starting to creep into my mind and chill my blood. I was still heading for the forest.

I also had the strangest sense of déjà vu right now…

Come to think of it, that whole conversation felt, oddly familiar.

My pace began to slow as I started replaying the argument and the little bits of information I'd received. Twilight was missing in the Everfree forest, Rainbow Dash blames me, I go it alone to find her in some stupid attempt to clear my own name…

"Holy Throne…" I muttered as a hand moved to my forehead, my fingers lightly pressing against my temples, I didn't even pay any mind to the fake religious reference I'd made, I was known for quoting my favourite games or books rather then real religions that I didn't follow. "This is just like…" My thoughts trailed off as I finally halted, a realization smacking me upside the head.

I wrote this exact same scene in that damn story! It played out almost exactly how it was written, to a T. "Okay…that's just freaky." I said slowly as I began walking again without even realizing. "Just a coincidence, just a coincidence…I hope."

* * *

After what felt like hours of randomly wandering through the trees, I managed to at least find the path and reach theentrance to Sweet Apple Acres. I spared a brief glance over my shoulder at the house in the distance, this time there was no stab of excitement at seeing it for real. My mind was focused elsewhere to notice how insane this situation was.

So far I hadn't seen Rainbow Dash or Applejack since the argument, either they'd decided to go find Twilight themselves, or they were following me. Either way they weren't trying to stop me as of yet, and I wasn't about to argue with that.

"This has got to be the stupidest idea I've ever had." I muttered, a pang of unease following the words as I realized I was quoting myself from my story yet again. Shivering slightly I set off down the path towards Ponyville, as much as I didn't want to go there, that was the only entrance I knew about that lead into the forest.

With luck I could sneak around the town, slip into the forest, and find Twilight without any pony seeing me. Though given the fact that I, appeared to be living my story as the Nightmare hinted at, I had a feeling things weren't going to go the way I wanted.

Still if that was the case, then I had a good idea of where to start looking for Twilight. It was just a matter of finding the place for real…all the while dodging the denizens of the forest, probably being hunted by Twilight's friends (If Dash distrusted me then the others would likely follow suit before long). All the while having no food, water or equipment of any kind…

"I am so screwed…"


	5. Meet the Ponies

"Well, you're off to a marvellous start aren't you?" I groaned, the audible smack of my hand connecting with my forehead filling my ears as I ground to a halt, I was still within sight of Sweet Apple Acres, having only made it a few paces down the road before the full gravity of my situation had set in and pulled me up short.

Having let my temper get the best of me, I just stormed off and ditched the two ponies that could help me. The ONLY ponies that could help me, I didn't know anything about Equestria beyond what I'd seen in the show. I had no idea where the Everfree forest was, let alone how I would even get to it, or even where to start looking once I got there!

I spared a glance over my shoulder; from here I could still see the farm, the rows of trees that stretched on for miles. Perhaps it wasn't to late to double back and apologize…though given Rainbow's less then pleasant attitude towards me so far, I doubt she'd be to quick to shrug off the argument, especially since she was right in a sense, my arrival and Twilight's disappearance were way to close together to be coincidence.

Not that I was about to admit I was wrong, not after that little exchange.

My hand slowly dropped back to my side as I resumed staring at the gate. "I could go back," I mumbled quietly, the idea was certainly the most, sensible option, just swallow my pride, apologize and hope for the best.

Again I was struck by an odd sense of déjà vu. This whole day was turning into one big 'haven't I done this before' encounter for me. It was unnerving to say the least…

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud rumble which swiftly pulled my eyes skyward. The storm that had been rolling in was well underway now; the entire sky was blanketed in thick black clouds, the odd flash of red preceded the thunder that was rolling i-

Red? I blinked several times, my hand returning to my face as I briefly rubbed my eyes, before double checking. Another flash, redder then the last lit up the afternoon sky. "Red lightening? Equestria just keeps getting weirder." I said as my gaze wandered back down to the ground, even with the rationalization, I still felt a slight tinge of fear creep into my sub conscious. Even for a different planet, dimension, whatever, this still didn't feel right.

I forced my gaze back onto the path ahead, my eyes wandering back and forth between the road towards Ponyville (I could just see the buildings on the horizon) or back to Sweet Apple Acres. Neither option was very promising.

Again my mind drew a parallel to the story I'd written, even this, the storm, the choice as to whether to turn back or not. My mind kept prodding me, pulling up random notes and pages from the early days of that damn story.

This was really starting to annoy me…though given how ridiculous the whole 'transported to another universe' concept was, being trapped inside my own work of fiction wasn't that much further of a stretch, was it? Was being trapped in a work of fiction, more, or less likely then being dragged into an alternate universe, or was this a different dimension, or, galaxy?

"Ah, headache," I groaned, wincing as the faint twinges of pain crept into my skull. I set aside the debate for another time; after all there was no real way to prove whether or not this was my story unfolding around us.

Or could I? My eyes widened a touch as a thought occurred to me. "If this  _is_  my fanfic, then, I should be able to figure out, what happens next, and I'm talking to myself…great." I rolled the idea around in my head for a few moments. It was a bit of a stretch, but if I could recall enough of the story…

Finally, a few details being to emerge, memories of the odd page here and there, the initial trip to Equestria, the fight with Rainbow Dash, slowly I recalled my work on this particular chapter. Chapter three had been the actual start to the adventure, the revelation that Twilight was missing led to me striking out on my own after the Rainbow made her accusation.

I made it about halfway to Ponyville before Applejack caught up with me and insisted we stop by the town first, despite my protests, I followed with the intention of rounding up the rest of the mane 6 to help find the missing unicorn.

But upon arrival, something went wrong…what was it? I lightly tapped a finger against my forehead as I struggled to recall the details. Only a single sentence formed, and when it did a chill ran down my spine.

_Death, has a hundred hooves…_

The name of the third chapter of the story, the chill spread as I realized exactly what was waiting for me at Ponyville. If my theory was correct.

Glancing skyward yet again, I caught a glimpse of a brilliant flash of red as a fork of lightening lashed out and struck the ground several miles away. Blinking away the after images that lingered over my vision, I felt a lump form in my throat, red lightening that didn't seem natural, even for Equestria.

"Only way to know for sure," I sighed, before turning back to Sweet Apple Acres, I couldn't resist stealing another glance at the bright red barn and the acres of trees surrounding it, I might not see it again, at least not for real.

Funny how just two days ago, this was all a cartoon, and now I was seeing it for real…

Shaking my head slightly, I tore my gaze away from the farm and focused solely on the road ahead. The only way I would know for sure as to whether this was real or not, was to get to Ponyville and see if the next part happened, if it didn't then at least I knew I had a chance of turning this mess around.

And if it did come true…this was going to be one of the best and worse weeks of my life, not to mention my last.

Pushing the thought back down, I set off along the path, slowly at first but I soon quickened my pace until I was jogging, the almost deafening booms of thunder trailing in my wake…

* * *

It'd be running for a while now, I wasn't sure how long, but it was far shorter then I'd have liked, but eventually I was forced to halt, my heart pounded in my chest and my breaths came short and quick as I slowed to a halt, Ponyville looming on the horizon. I must have been going a while then, or I was more out of shape then I thought…more then likely the latter.

I didn't have long to rest though, as the faint clip clopping of hooves on the path behind me soon reached my ears, drawing both my attention and my gaze back the way I came.

Galloping up the road after me was a familiar orange pony, a cowboy hat obscuring her face. I couldn't help but cringe slightly at the notion that, again, something had come true, exactly as written. I wouldn't admit it until we reached the town, but I was rapidly running out of straws with which to deny the situation.

Catching my breath, I decided against continuing, she was galloping faster then I could ever hope to match, besides, I had little point to avoid her, provided she wasn't planning on giving me a sharp buck for the argument…

All too quickly she caught up and slowed to a halt a few steps away; I frowned slightly as I noted she was barely even winded. I really was out of shape. "Applejack fancy meeting you here," I said slowly, crossing my arms in the process.

"Just what in the hay do ya think you're doin'?" She snapped. Straight to the point I see. "Running off into the Everfree Forest alone? Ya got a death wish or somethin'?"

My eyes narrowed slightly at the question, though I forced myself to keep my voice level as I responded. "Your friend was pinning the blame on me for this, 'Twilight' girl vanishing. Given the situation, I wasn't exactly left with many options. Besides, you said yourself she's my ticket home, so I'm not going to sit on my backside while you do all the work."

Applejack shook her head, a quiet sigh escaping her. "Runnin' off alone, to a place you know nothin' about won't do either of ya any good." She stated firmly, though her voice lacked the rebuke I was expecting. "Me and mah friends have been in there before, we know the forest…somewha'. You need us!"

I hesitated for a few moments, before sighing heavily. "A valid point…but given the other pony, Rainbow Dash, doesn't trust me, I doubt anyone-anypony else will." Again my eyes narrowed. "Why are you so eager to help me anyway? I doubt you don't share your friend's suspicions."

Applejack's ears dropped slightly, and her eyes shifted away from me. "Truth is, ah don't fully trust ya." She mumbled, one hoof lightly pawing at the ground. "But ya haven't done anything' wrong by me so far. Least I can do is help ya out, and try ta find Twilight at the same time." She fixed me with a cautious stare. "Plus this way, I can keep an eye on ya, make sure ya can't do anything wrong by any pony, and keep ya from doing something boneheaded and stupid, like running into the forest alone."

I opened my mouth to argue, but quickly shut it again as I met her gaze. As much as I wanted to protest, she made valid points, plus the longer I stood around arguing with her, the less time I had to get to town and prove things were not predetermined by my terrible writing skills.

"Can't argue with that," I chuckle as a hand moves to rub the back of my neck. "Well, lead the way ma'am. The sooner we get to the forest, the sooner we can find, Twilight."

With a nod, the earth pony set off at a brisk pace down the road, I hastened to follow. "We need to stop in town first. Were gonna need all the help we can get." She made it a few feet down the road before realizing I'd stopped short.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" I started, hands rising slightly in a defensive gesture. "I've already said I'm not going into town, I'll create a panic, more so then one of the denizens being kidnapped would most likely!"

Applejack fixed with another glare, this one clearly indicating she wasn't going to back down. "We don't have time for ya worryin'! Twi needs our help, and WE need help ta find her. We can worry about ya causing a fuss later. But right now we need to round up mah friends and get movin'!"

"How about you go round up your friends, and I meet you at the forest?" I responded, a hand lightly cutting through the air in an attempt to finalize my statement, of course all this did was result in another, harsher glare. I inwardly cringed at the sight.

"This ain't open for debate, Simon." She responded slowly, each word obviously picked carefully and stated through clenched teeth. "Were goin' to Ponyville, even if I have ta drag ya there myself!"

I sighed heavily, knowing better then to continue fighting. "Fine, but when I wound up at the gallows, I'm blaming you."

"I don't know how things work where you're from, but ya ain't got anythin' to worry about here. Nothing bad will happen to ya, trust me." She quickly set off a moment later, leaving me standing there staring at the spot she vacated.

"I sure hope so." I mumbled, before falling into step behind her. Despite her words, I didn't feel all that reassured.

* * *

The rest of the journey passed in uncomfortable silence. Applejack was probably just concerned with reaching the town and finding Twilight. I on the other hand, felt my heart beat a little faster with each step, a million different thoughts running through my mind as the colourful buildings of ponyville loomed ever closer.

The most prominent thought was how the ponies would react; Applejack had taken my presence so far reasonably well, though given there was a few hours where I wasn't conscious, I don't know what transpired while I was out.

But this wasn't just one pony; this was an entire town, an entire town that could, quite possibly decide to throw me in a dungeon out of fear. Or worse.

Shaking my head to clear the rather grim images that sprung up, I shifted my mind to the other focus of my thoughts, namely what we would find there. Would it be exactly as I wrote, or nothing of the sort?

I spared another glance skywards, just as another rumble of thunder reached my ears. I noticed AJ glancing upwards as well, scanning the clouds with a worried narrowing of her eyes. "Something's not right about that." I mumbled as a flash of lightening bathed the land in a blood red glow for an instant. Applejack didn't respond, though I didn't miss her pace quickening slightly.

Luckily we were already at the outskirts of the town, and despite my rapidly growing fears, I pressed on, following the earth pony through the streets.

My eyes rapidly jumped from building to building, the buildings looked almost, normal, for a almost medieval hamlet style town rather then a modern city. "Not what you were expectin'?" Applejack asked, I could hear the slight grin she sported without even looking her way.

"Not exactly," I said softly, my voice tinged with a hint of awe as I tore my gaze away from the houses and focused back on the street. Somehow we'd reached the town center, or so I assumed. A myriad of market stalls were scattered about, ponies wandering back and forth between them eyeing the wares and bartering prices. If it wasn't for the fact they were all candy coloured ponies, I could have mistaken my surroundings for one of those Renascence fairs I'd seen on TV.

But no, the brightly coloured ponies ruined the illusion and drove home the fact that I wasn't just lost, I wasn't on Earth anymore.

Fearing the worst, I kept my eyes on the various ponies, jumping between each one and watching for the inevitable reaction. Most of them were to focused on buying or selling to notice, others were on their way to a different destination and didn't even glance in our direction.

I licked my lips, noting how dry they suddenly seemed to be as I studied the different ponies. A familiar, teal coloured shape caught my eye, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as I spotted the mark on the ponies flank, a lyre. Or so I assumed, I wasn't very musically inclined, but I'd recognize that unicorn anywhere even from this distance.

Standing next to her was another familiar sight, a cream coloured pony with a mane that was half pink and half what I believe was dark blue. I barely caught my tongue in time and bit down on it as the names of the two mares sprung to my lips. I did NOT need more attention then I was about to receive…

Speaking of which, no pony had reacted to me ye-

"Hi!"

"Gah!" I leapt back a step as a voice abruptly jolted my from my thoughts, tearing my eyes off the two ponies, I focused on a new shape that was disturbingly right in front of me, a bundle of pink fur and a mess of fairy floss styled mane. "Where'd you come from?" I gasped, eyes widening a touch as I stepped back further, putting a good few paces between me and Pinkie Pie, who's already painfully stretched smile grew brighter still.

"I was on my way to find Applejack," she abruptly states, ignoring my question as her eyes jump to the orange pony in question. "The mayor wanted me to find you and Rainbow Dash! She needs to see us all." Quick as a flash she jumped back to me, bright blue eyes wide and seeming to sparkle slightly in the dim light that slipped through the cloud cover. "But you're here! I thought you didn't want to come to Ponyville!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Bon Bon glancing our way. Queue everything going to hell in five…

Before I could say anything though, Applejack cut in. "Why does the mayor wanna see us?"

"I don't know, she just said it was really urgent!" Pinkie continued, her smile fading slightly. "But she wanted to see Rarity, and me, and Dashie and you and Fluttershy right away!" I did my best to ignore the ponies around us, though I couldn't miss the cream pony nudging Lyra and pointing a hoof towards us out of the corner of my eye.

"Uh, girls," I cut in, neither seemed to hear me as the pink pony kept up her rapid fire speech as she began listing off what the mysterious letter could be.

"Ohh what if she's planning a party!" Pinkie started bouncing on the spot at the prospect.

"Girls…" By now both Lyra and Bon Bon were staring at us, I risked a glance their way, but their expressions were unreadable.

"That doesn't make a lick of sense Pinkie, why would she be planning a party?" Applejack protested, again ignoring my attempt to get their attention.

"Well what abou-"

"GIRLS!" I suddenly shouted, causing both of them to jump and whip around to face me. Along with about half the population of Ponyville…hell.

Everything began very, very quiet at that moment. Not even the thunder that had trailed me from the farm was willing to break the sudden tension.

A full minute ticked by before I risked speaking, painfully aware of dozens of pairs of eyes boring into my skull from every direction. "Perhaps it would be best to, go to the mayor and find out? Rather then speculate in the streets and waste time?" I suggested, my voice suddenly sounding very small and weak with every pony staring intently at me.

Applejack nodded quickly. "Tha' would be best, come on." She quickly set off, Pinkie bouncing after her; I swear her hooves never once actually touched the ground the whole trip.

I hastened to follow along behind, my eyes focused solely on my shoes as I made my way across the square. My previous excitement and wonder drained away and replaced with dread as I heard the faint murmurs of conversation returning, quieter then before. The odd comment of 'strange creature' and 'what is it?" reaching my ears.

Thankfully no one had started screaming for the guards…yet.

* * *

"That was exactly what I was hoping to avoid!" I snapped the second the door closed behind us, blocking the ever growing crowd of ponies that was stopping to stare at me. "Now the entire town not only knows I'm here, but is probably on the verge of panic!" I continued, focusing on the two ponies in front of me.

Thankfully we reached the town hall without incident, aside from all the ponies staring at us of course. For the moment my actual reason for being here was forgotten, submerged by the crippling realizing that I'd just been discovered, and a day after arriving too! So much for keeping a low profile…

"Just calm down a bit, the ponies are smarter then that." Applejack stated firmly, an attempt at a reassuring smile forming on her lips. I was anything but reassured by it.

Before I could argue though, I was cut off (again) by another voice. "What is all this commotion about darling?" The voice I knew all too well, the tinge of what I attributed to sophistication, the kind of voice that would ordinarily grate on my nerves within a few sentences, a voice that I knew all too well.

I shifted my attention past the earth pony and her still bouncing pink companion as a second pair of ponies rounded the corner. A familiar yellow pegasus and a white unicorn with a heavily stylized purple mane.

Fluttershy, upon seeing me, uttered some form of frightened squeak before ducking behind her friend. Rarity however, simply halted dead in her tracks. "Wha, wh-what is, t-that?" She managed to stutter as she retreated a few paces, bumping into Fluttershy and causing the pink maned pony to retreat back into the other room just as quickly (if not faster) then she'd arrived.

I crossed my arms and prepared to deliver the stereo typical 'I'm human, not a damn monster!' speech, when Applejack jumped in front of me. "This is our…guest." She quickly stated, likely hoping to avoid a confrontation. "The one Rainbow told ya about last night."

Slowly, the white unicorn's face smoothed back to its original, almost disinterested state, though I still caught the odd glance my way. "I-I see…this is the, creature you wanted to show us."

"I'm a person, not a pet." I mumbled, earning a trio of glances from the ponies. "Just sayin'."

"It-" a harsh glare from me. "His, name is Simon, it's a…" The farm pony glanced towards me for aid.

"I'm a human, not from this world, I assume." I paused, taking a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. "Is this really the best time for long winded stories?" I offered, hoping to find out what was going on and find out if the letter Pinkie had mentioned was the same one I was praying they would never see.

"Uh, yes, perhaps it would be best to, leave introductions until later?" Rarity, surprisingly agreed with me. Chances are for the sake of getting away from me at the earliest possible opportunity.

"Alrigh'…what exactly is goin' on anyway sugar cube?" Applejack asked, to which her friend could only shrug.

"I don't rightly know, Pinkie told me the mayor wanted to see us, same as you I presume." I spared a quick glance towards Pinkie at the mention of her name, somehow she was remaining strangely quiet. "All I managed to learn is that a letter was found nailed to the door of the town hall. Whatever it says, it sure spooked her."

I could almost feel the colour draining from my face at the comment. Thankfully the ponies were focused on each other and didn't seem to notice. Again my mind leapt on the words, the letter, nailed to the door, this was exactly how I'd damn well written it! Surely there was no more proof needed.

The rest of the conversation was drowned out by the sound of my pounding heartbeat. I shifted back a few paces and leaned against the wall, a hand moving to lightly massage my forehead as sudden flash of pain struck just behind my eyes. A wave of nausea rapidly accompanied it as all the dread and confusion I'd been forcing down came flaring up and assaulted my senses all at once.

As if being in Equestria wasn't bad enough, this really was  _my_  version of it. All of this, designed by me. Though this wasn't just words on a page anymore, this was real.

Which meant that in just a few short days…

I shook my head, swallowed the lump in my throat, and forced my eyes to focus, just in time to catch the tail end of the conversation between the groups of friends. "-best we find out what this letter actually says, before jumpin' to conclusions." Applejack stated, to a small chorus of confirmations from the others, myself included surprisingly.

Pushing off the wall, I fell into step behind the ponies, luckily no one had noticed my reaction it seemed, or they'd just chosen to ignore it.

I slowly trailed behind the ponies as they moved deeper into the town hall, my eyes wandered again, but with less enthusiasm this time. The hall was rather sparsely decorated; a long rug covered the floor, a mostly white rug with a brilliant golden sun in the center, the mark of Celestia. A fireplace was set into one wall a few random directions along the mantel piece. Honestly this place looked more like a home then an office.

"Ah, good you've finally arrived." My eyes jumped back ahead of us as we finally halted in front of a table, or more accurately the mayor, whom was standing in front of it. "I was beginning to worry something wa-goodness!" She leapt back a pace as her eyes shifted past the ponies and settled on me. "Wha-what in Celestia's name is that!" She demanded, pointing a shaking hoof at me.

"Human, not from around here, trying to get home, can we not do this, it's been a long day." I pitched in quickly, finishing with a slight wave. "Trust me, I don't bite."

"We'll explain in a bit mayor, now what's this about a letter?" Applejack stepped in before any more questions could be raised by the now quivering earth pony.

"Uh, right, yes the le-letter." She quickly stepped aside and nodded to the table, I took a step forward, and the mayor swiftly darted around the other side of the table, it took all my self control not to laugh despite my nervousness, she reminded me of Fluttershy in a sense…

Ignoring her for a moment, I noted the folded up scroll in the center of the table, despite the stacks of papers, writing equipment and various knick knacks that were spread across its surface as well, that one scroll stood out for some reason, sitting there, almost taunting us to open it.

Before I could think about reaching for it however, a soft purple glow enveloped it and it abruptly hovered into the air, I instinctively leapt back a pace at the sudden movement, though as it drifted closer to Rarity, I noted her horn was glowing the same colour.

"Magic? What the hell?" I commented, despite knowing this already, actually seeing it in person was, needless to say a much different experience.

It seemed I was ignored again though, as the purple maned pony simply unfurled the letter and turned it to face her. The rest of the ponies quickly crowded around to read as well. Luckily, being taller then them, I could easily just shuffle behind and read over their heads.

What I saw only made my heart sink into my shoes. The text was written in luminous green colour, the words seemed to dance erriely across the page, making it hard for my eyes to actually focus on them, though somehow I could still understand each word without difficulty.

It wasn't until I actually began reading, that a cold voice invaded my thoughts, a bone chilling hiss like a cold wind through tree branches.

_To the feeble folks of Ponyville, beware this warning._

_Death has a hundred hooves…and walks a hundred ways. Death waits close by but not for you if you are wise._

_You WILL surrender the Elements of Harmony and their bearers to me. Then, we'll let you get on with your wretched little lives._

_Refuse to surrender and death will come to your town with a hundred souls, and swords._

_Don't disappoint me._

"Now you see why I wanted to see you." The mayor stated, and I was caught off guard when the ponies jolted at the sound of her voice. I was still disoriented from the, odd choice of reading voice on my part, though I quickly set it aside for later, I could worry about details when I was alone and had time to think…hopefully.

"Elements of, Harmony?" I asked, leaning forward slightly and pretending to reread the letter. "I guess these are, something important?"

"Only the most powerful magical, thingy's ever!" Pinkie stated with another bright smile. "And we-" She was cut off by Applejack abruptly shoving a hoof in her face, muffling the rest of her words.

"Suffice to say, yeah their important." She stated quickly before the pink earth pony could say anymore. I made a point of arching an inquisitive eyebrow at the behaviour.

"So the 'just hand them over' idea is out then?"

"Yup."

I nodded slightly, pretending to accept this for now. "This place just keeps getting weirder."

"Well what now? Shouldn't Twilight be here to see this as well? And where's Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked. Applejack hastily averted her eyes. "Applejack?"

"She's, missin'. That's why we were comin' here…She didn't get home last night, an we figure she's somewhere in the Everfree Forest, she was vistin Zecora before she vanished. Rainbow went to scout ahead, see if she could find anythin'." The earth pony responded, her eyes on her hooves, likely feeling guilty after forgetting about their missing friend.

"Oh my. Well, I think it's safe to assume this letter has something to do with it. We shouldn't waste anymore time!" The unicorn responded, I chose to stay out of the conversation for now, being ignored and forgotten gave me a moment to think.

Or rather take note of the letter again, Rarity was still levitating it at eye level, and while the ponies were busy discussing the next course of action it went unnoticed. "Hey, girls…" I said softly, an eyebrow arching, I could have sworn the letters were actually glowing. A moment later the words flared brighter, dazzling me. "Whoa, do letters normally glow like that?" I asked, the ponies hesitated, focusing back on the scroll.

"Not that I know of," Appleajck commented, inching back a step. "I don't have much to do with magic though."

"I've never seen anything like that before either, tis no magic I know of." Rarity stated.

"Oh my…I don-don't like this." Fluttershy whispered, a second before the letter flashed brightly again, blinding me for a few seconds.

* * *

I barely suppressed a groan as the after images from the flash started to fade, leaving me blinking away the multi coloured spots that danced before my eyes. "Okay, that hurt." I mumbled, shifting a hand to my forehead as a stabbing pain flared up behind me eyes.

As my vision faded back into focus, I noted a distinct lack of, well anything familiar. None of the ponies were in my immediate vision, nor was the table or the scroll. "Girls?" Another stab of pain flared up, stronger then the last, I vaguely felt my knee hit the ground as the world dropped a few feet. "Ouch, I'm beginning to hate magic."

Forcing my eyes to focus, I risked a glance about myself, expecting to find the other ponies in a similar state of disorientation.

Instead I saw trees, dark, gnarled trees with twisted branches. What little light seeped through the thick canopy of leaves illuminated what appeared to a clearing in the middle of a forest. A flash of lightening lit up the area, revealing that I was alone.

"…I don't think I'm in Ponyville anymore…"


	6. By the Book

"I don't think I'm in Ponyville anymore…" I mumbled, turning in a slow circle to examine the surrounding area. My initial examination of the area proving unchanged, just dark, gnarled trees in all directions, no ponies, no Ponyville, nothing but forest it seemed.

"Just, great," I growled, forcing myself back upright, my legs trembling slightly as I found my way back to my feet. The stabbing pain in my skull persisted, but thankfully it eased to a mild annoyance, it was bearable at least. That didn't help my situation though, headache or not, I was still alone and lost in what was likely the most dangerous place in Equestria.

As the thought entered my mind, I felt my heart beat a little faster, my breathing grew shallower and more rapid as I turned on the spot more rapidly, searching for any sign of danger or better yet, a way out of the forest.

"Oh hell," I said softly as the realization began to set in. Alone in the Everfree Forest, a place I didn't know in the least, lost and probably surrounded by creatures that wouldn't hesitate to murder me for food, or just for fun. Plus, whatever had teleported me here was probably lurking nearby as well…

By now my heart was pounding painfully against my ribs, my breaths coming in short gasps as my eyes jumped from shadow to shadow, ears straining for the slightest sound.

Amidst the thoughts and images of the possible monsters lurking in the darkness, a single thought made it through. This was all my fault! If I hadn't have written the damn story, that, creature wouldn't have brought me here and I'd still be safe and sound at home!

I had no one to blame but myself…

I pushed the thought aside, now wasn't the time for that. Right now, this was real and I had to think of a way not to wind up dead. Which was easier said then done all things considered, I had no idea where to go or what to do. My only option was to try and calm my frayed nerves and find a way out of this mess.

Despite my panic, I stole a deep breath, followed by another as I tried weakly to regain my composure.

"Okay, stop, stop and think." I mumbled, forcing my eyes closed, forcing myself not to dwell on where I was, rather what to do, which quickly led back to being alone in the forest and soon brought about another panic attack…

I really wasn't cut out for this adventuring stuff…

Third time proved to be the charm, as I managed to calm down and start thinking clearly once again, however barely.

My situation was, less then ideal. However sitting here panicking was only going to make it worse, I had to stop and think of a plan, one that didn't involve running blindly into the woods, which had been my first idea.

Still, what else could I do? Sit here and wait for whatever teleported me to come collect me, praying that the ponies found me first? No, I had to move, which meant I needed a direction…

I opened my eyes at last; thankfully nothing had changed in the short span of time. Slowly I turned on the spot a final time, looking for something, anything that would lead me straight.

Trees, trees everywhere, clumped so closely together it'd be a fight and a half to get through-

There! My eyes landed on a small gap in the forest, amidst the tangled mess of branches and dense foliage, there was a single route through, it wasn't much, but the overgrowth wasn't as dense or thick, funny how I didn't notice that sooner…it wasn't a path, but it was the next best thing I suppose.

A loud rumble greeted my ears, forcing my gaze skyward. Just in time for a brilliant flash to dazzle my eyes again. "Gah, damn it!" I hissed, hands jumping to my face to rub at my eyes as the headache I'd been ignoring returned full force, along with a fresh pain in my eyes from being blinded.

While I was disoriented, I felt a cold chill suddenly strike the back of my neck, and shivered as it trailed downwards. Before I could react a second chill struck my cheek and another on my forehead.

My hands dipped to my side as I blinked my eyes back into focus. Ignoring the spots rain hitting my face and neck, I set off towards the gap in the tree line, now doubly incentivised to get moving, if only to avoid getting soaked.

"Could this day get any worse?" I asked, expecting a bolt of lightning or something to hit me. Instead the rain abruptly worsened, going from a few spots here and there to a proper shower. In the short few steps it took to reach the edge of the treeline, my clothes and hair were already soaked. "Sorry I asked…" I grumbled, before ducking under the first branch and carefully beginning my path through the forest.

My only hope was that Ponyville wasn't far away, that I was on the edge of the forest or something. The sooner I made it back, the better.

Another loud crash of thunder sounded over head, not muffled in the least by the thick canopy of trees and branches around and above me. I quickened my pace slightly, eager to be out of the storm.

The only thought that stuck in my mind, was getting the heck out of the rain and forest. For now, locating Twilight and figuring out the reason for my being here were filed away. I could worry about rescue missions and demonic plots once I was back with the other ponies. Provided I lived that long…

* * *

My hopes of making it out of the forest began to fade away with each passing minute as I pushed onwards through the tangled branches and grasping roots that jutted out across my path. What had seemed like a simple run upon exiting the clearing, was swiftly turning into a hard fought, uphill battle with the forest itself it seemed.

Pushing another branch aside, I halted, taking in the area ahead. Thanks to the thick canopy of tree branches and leafs, most of the sunlight that managed to pierce the clouds, was blocked by the forest. Meaning I could only see a few feet in any direction, and right now all I could see was dark trees and tangled foliage everyway I turned. The only difference was the 'path' I'd been following since leaving the clearing, though given it was just less dense then any other direction, it didn't help all that much.

"Is it too much to ask for a path or a sign?" I grumbled as I started to move forwards once again, so far I had no other options but to procee-

I tensed as a sudden chill struck my back, the faint tickle of a breeze rolling across the back of my neck. Instinctively I whipped around, examining the forest behind me. Nothing, I could have sworn something had just darted past me…

A loud snap drew my attention to the right, my eyes peered into the darkness, catching a glimpse of, something, a faint outline that recoiled back into the shadow of the trees around it.

My hands slowly closed into fists as I backed away from where the shadow had been. Maybe it was just my paranoia kicking in, but I could have sworn I felt eyes boring into me.

I continued staring at the spot for a long moment, despite knowing it was pointless, the, whatever it was it probably wasn't stupid enough to just come back and show itself.

Had I even seen anything though? Or was it just my eyes playing tricks on me, the forest getting to me?

Reluctantly, I turned away, focusing once more on the direction I'd been going, even as I did so however, that feeling of being watched persisted. Shaking my head slightly, I began trudging onwards again, this time though I moved more cautiously, slower so to, hopefully catch any stray sound if something was following me.

I managed to walk for another few minutes, my gaze occasionally jumping back over my shoulder to ensure nothing was following me. If it was it was either quick to hide again, or blending so well with the shadows of the trees that I couldn't see it.

Focusing back ahead, I felt my heart skip a beat. Ahead I spotted a familiar silhouette, a distinctly pony shaped outline that stood, staring back at me from a few feet ahead, in the darkness I couldn't make out much detail, but it was definitely a pony.

I halted, eyes widening a touch as we seemed to lock gazes. A cold dread settled into my stomach as I felt its eyes boring into mine. "Uh…Hello?" I asked after a few moments, despite the uneasy feeling, I decided to press my luck, maybe it was Zecora or one of the ponies from town, as unlikely as that was.

Instead of a response, or the sudden attack of some description I was anticipating, it abruptly spun on its heel and simply walked away into the forest, quickly vanishing into the shadows. "Hey! Wait a minute!" I called, throwing caution to the wind as I started to follow. So far it was the only sign of life I'd seen, so I wasn't keen on letting it slip away that easily.

I quickened my pace and soon reached the tree I'd seen it vanish behind, only to turn the corner and find nothing. Before I could question where it had vanished too, something moved on the edge of my vision, whipping around, I got another glimpse of it as it vanished into the forest a short distance away. "I just wanna talk, damn it!" I cursed, quickly breaking into a jog after the pony.

For whatever reason, I kept up this game of hide and seek for quite a while. It felt like a hour or more ticked by where I would simply glimpse the shadow, rush to catch up, only to find they'd vanished and spot them again. They clearly knew I was following them, I was shouting loud enough. But they wouldn't stop to talk.

They were leading me somewhere it seemed…but where?

"Would you just slow down, I'm not gonna…hurt…you…" My words trailed off as I pushed through a series of low hanging branches, wincing as one snapped back and struck my cheek. Stumbling through the last few branches, I found myself skidding to a halt as the trees abruptly ended, giving way to a clear view of…

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" I said slowly, eyes widening as I slowly stepped out of the forest completely, ignoring the rain that abruptly began pelting my face as I studied the sight before me.

A long rope bridge, led across what I could only assume was a chasm of some description. A thick fog overtook most of the bridge and obscured everything below it; no doubt it was a long way down though.

A flash of lightning lit up the area beyond, briefly illuminating the tall spires of some fortress or castle beyond the bridge. From here I couldn't make out much, though I knew what I was looking at. It was the castle from the second episode of the show, the castle where the Elements of Harmony had been housed. The name escaped me, much to my dismay.

Tearing my gaze away from the castle, I glanced left and right, noting that the forest seemed to just, end here. I'd reached the edge of the woods, and not a single tree grew beyond this very point, I could see in a straight line in each direction, for miles it seemed. Or would have if not for the fog…funny I hadn't seen that back in the forest…

Looking around more carefully, I noted the complete lack of the pony I'd been following. They weren't on the bridge or in the surrounding here; I couldn't see any sign of them. Had they run across the bridge before I'd arrived?

Another crash of thunder sounded overhead, startling me from my thoughts. Focusing back on the fog shrouded castle, I felt the now familiar sense of dread return, I might not have written that mysterious pony when I made the story (not that I could recall) but I certainly remember the castle playing a big part of the tale.

If this truly was my story…then Twilight Sparkle was in there, and not alone…

I recall entering the castle alone in the story, though I'd barely made it inside before the ponies found their way here, somehow. So waiting around wasn't necessarily a bad idea…I could wait a few extra minutes and once they arrived, it would make exploring the castle a damn sight easy.

Then again, I hadn't written that encounter with, whoever that pony was in the forest. I'd stumbled across the castle by chance in the story, which meant that –despite my earlier realization and beliefs- this wasn't sticking to my tale completely.

Was it still my story, or was it just coincidence what had happened so far?

I wasn't sure what to think anymore…

For now, I did my best to file that particular situation aside, I needed to focus on the here and now, not what ifs, which, sadly was something I often did. "What to do, what to do." I murmured softly, my eyes darting between the bridge, and the castle beyond. I could try sneaking in alone, maybe find Twilight and get out, or I could retreat to the forest edge, stay out of the rain until the other ponies turned up (if they turned up) and hopefully find her as a group.

I liked the second option more, less chance of bad things happening to me…

Shivering slightly, I quickly retreated back a few paces, back under the tree line and out of the rain, once again I was completely soaked through, and likely going to suffer a cold or worse as a result. It was probably best I didn't stick around out in the downpour.

Now out of the rain, my conflict returned. I wasn't a coward, at least that's what I told myself. But really, I had no interest in going in there and risking my neck, even if it was to save someone's life, not to mention that someone was probably my ticket home and out of this mess.

Every minute I delayed risked her dying; I didn't need to try hard to recall what was likely going on in there. If I waited, we might be too late to save her, and then what? We couldn't exactly just magic up another element bearer and save the day…we needed her.

As much as I was unfit for the job. I had to try, better to die doing something heroic (and stupid) then cowering in a corner, right?

" _Stop being a coward._ " I thought, frowning as I crept to the edge of the forest and studied the run to the castle, the bridge would be a problem. One slip up and it was a swift drop to jagged rock junction, and with this rain…

Then the castle itself, provided I didn't get seen on the approach, I couldn't say with any certainty what was actually inside the walls or even outside thanks to the fog. I had no weapons, or the strength to really fight.

"Looks like all that time wasted playing Metal Gear is gonna pay off." I mumbled, grinning slightly despite the impending doom of what I was about to do. I had no illusions that I could pull this off, but hell, not like I had anything to lose anymore…

And who knows, a lot of self insert authors somehow figured that if you died, you were sent home. That was a positive outlook, right?

I paused for a second longer, swallowing the lump that was forming in my throat. "Now or never." I said, before taking a deep breath and breaking into a sprint for the bridge, I knew if I hesitated for a moment at this point, I'd chicken out. The best option was to just go for it, not stop for a second, just run for it and pray I was making the right choice.

Maker, I hope the ponies found their way here, and fast!

* * *

It was a quick jog to the bridge, where I halted for the first time. The bridge swayed back and forth in the rain, bobbing unnervingly as the wind and rain struck it. I found myself hesitating before taking the first step.

I could do this; I HAD to do this…

I took a deep breath, and carefully stretched out one foot, lightly placing it on the first plank, slowly I shifted my weight fully onto the foot, even over the rain I could hear the creaking, I gulped, before slowly picking up my other foot and moving it to the step beyond. My hands quickly closed around the ropes that acted as handrails, gripping them tightly. "Hate, my, life." I hissed through clenched teeth, the creaking growing louder as I made it to the third step.

This was easily the stupidest idea I'd ever had! Okay maybe that was because my mind was blank with fear and I couldn't think of anything stupider, but regardless, crossing an unstable bridge with no fallback plan or support had to rank up there.

Another step, still going, another, I winced as the bridge suddenly shifted as the wind picked up, my grip tightened and I felt my breath catch in my throat as my feet slipped on the wet planks. I quickly steadied myself, eyes closing as I fought to calm my rapidly beating heart.

After a few moments of not falling to my death, I risked opening my eyes, and for some really stupid reason, I looked down. Nothing but fog thankfully, still, just seeing nothing below my feet cause my knees to tremble and my heart began to pound harder then before.

"Rule one, never, look, down." I reminded myself, before forcing my gaze back to the bridge ahead. "Just don't think about it.' I said before shakily taking another step, then a second. The bridge creaked again, and I halted, waiting.

Another step, I had to be about halfway now, right? I risked a glance over my shoulder, I couldn't see the other side of the bridge, or the side I'd come from, the fog had rapidly closed in and obscured my vision to a couple of feet in each direction.

Gulping again, I focused back on the fog ahead, and slowly made another step. I just had to keep going, don't think about what I was doing, or what was below...I shuddered slightly, before taking another step. I was really bad at this 'don't think about it' plan.

I should start a list.

Another few steps and I noted the beginnings of the cliff face on the other side of the bridge starting to creep into view. I smiled weakly; just a few more steps and I'd be across!

My heart skipped a beat when I stepped again, only to hear a loud crack followed by suddenly plummet several feet, my knee slamming into the next board painfully. I yelped in pain and shock as I finally halted, one leg dangling precariously through the bridge, my body only being held up by my grip on the ropes.

Slowly, shakily, I pulled myself back up, ignoring the pain in my legs and hands, I managed to get back onto the bridge. "Too close, way to close." I mumbled, risking a glance down to take note of the now broken step.

Carefully, I leapt over it, landing on the next one and cringing until the creaking and swaying stopped. I quickened my pace this time, despite my fears, I just wanted off the bridge now and quickly finished my crossing, thankfully with no further incident.

As soon as my feet hit solid ground again, I felt my knees buckle, and I landed on them roughly, wincing slightly as the pain from before flared up for a moment. "Never, again." I gasped, eyes focused on the ground as I fought to catch my breath, I hadn't even realized I'd been holding it for the last few steps.

Twilight could teleport me back to Ponyville, no way I was crossing that bridge again!

Composing myself, I awkwardly stumbled back to my feet and paused to take in my surroundings. I was across the bridge, but still couldn't see much, this fog. It seemed to thicken the closer I was to the castle, strange.

"Almost like it's not natural." I mused; it was possible the fog was acting as a barrier, obscuring the area from view to hide what was going on. Or maybe it was just fog and I was looking too heavily into it.

Either way, it was just a visual barrier, and I had to keep moving. I started to creep forwards again, now that I was back off the bridge I felt more at ease, but I still had the problem of what might be guarding the castle. The last thing I wanted to do was run head first into a sentry.

After a few paces I noted a vague shadow looming out of the fog, as I moved closer I noted two shapes, unmoving and hard to distinguish, standing directly ahead and spaced a few feet apart. I halted, eyes widening a touch as I watched, and waited.

They didn't move. Slowly I crept forward a few more steps, and a little more. The outline of a huge door started to materialize behind them as I closed the gap. More details became pronounced as I drew nearer, both appeared to be pony shaped silhouettes, the one on the left was reared onto its hind legs, and wings spread wide, a sword clutched between its teeth.

Again I halted, my eyes darting between it and the other, a horn jutted out of its skull and it had its head bowed slightly, looking almost ready to charge at me. I waited a few seconds, breath held. Still they didn't move.

I crept closer to the pegasus and finally, in the dim light some details caught my eye, the figure was a very dull gray, both in mane and body, it didn't move an inch as I drew within a few paces of it, and lightly waved a hand in front of its eyes.

Taking a deep breath, I lightly tapped it on the nose. Stone, they were statues!

"Urgh…" I groaned, stepping back and sparing a glance towards the other, it was the same, solid stone guardians that flanked the main entrance. I exhaled a relieved sigh, quickly stepping aside as I made my way towards the door.

I only made it a few steps, when a sudden grinding sound, like stone on stone sounded behind me, and I jumped, snapping around and glancing back and forth between them again.

Funny, I could have sworn their heads were facing straight, towards the bridge, now though; the pegasus was turned, looking over its shoulder at me…

I licked my suddenly dry lips and turned away, that tingling sensation in the back of my neck returning before I'd even take a single step. I didn't waste any time darting through the door and putting as much distance between myself and those cold statues as I could.

Entering the castle proper, I noted the fog for some reason didn't creep into the building as much as I'd expected, the floor was veiled, but everything above my ankles was visible and untouched.

Slowly, I moved further into the room, the massive hall was barren save a few pillars, the only stand out feature was that massive statue like centrepiece where the elements had been, the tall spires were devoid of the old stone orbs now though, having been shattered and unleashed by their bearers a while ago in this very place.

That now familiar giddiness returned as I took the opportunity to glance about with wide eyed wonder, my present situation forgotten. It was like walking onto the set of your favourite movie or something. Only this was real.

Real…I shook my head, shaking off the sense of wonder. There was a time and a place for this. I needed to stop getting distracted so easily. I hesitated, taking in the hall again. Pillars, the centrepiece (what was that exactly anyway?) and…I slowly moved forwards and circled around one of the pillars, my eyes landing on a darkened stairwell off to one side, it lead upwards and curved around, presumably to the second floor of the castle.

I spared a glance over my shoulder and back towards the door. Then examined the expansive room again, so far I appeared to be alone. I had to admit the lack of any sign of the other ponies was troubling. Had they gotten lost in the forest? Had something, happened? They should have only been a few minutes behind me at most.

Maybe I should turn back…try and locate them and point them here…?

A sudden flash of green light drew my eye, I snapped around, looking for the source. A second later, a high pitched scream tore through the castle, the sound bouncing off the walls and leaving a painful ringing sound in my ears. I felt the colour drain from my face and my heart briefly stop at the sound, it was unmistakably the sound of someone in agony, the cry of someone suffering badly.

_Twilight!_

All thought of being quiet or retreating drained away as I broke into a sprint, not stopping for a second as I bolted towards the flash of light I'd seen. I quickly reached the stairs and began ascending. It wasn't until I reached the top that common sense finally kicked back in and I skidded to a halt on the last step, almost sending myself tumbling back down again.

Not a moment to soon it seemed, as a voice suddenly cut through the silence, confirming I'd almost run head long into, whatever was going on up there.

"Its only going to get worse the more you fight." A voice, female and laced with irritation reached my ears, soon followed by a faint clopping sound. "We'll get what we need one way or another…the question is whether you'll give it to us willingly, or we take it by force."

Another bright green flash dazzled my ears, closely followed by a second scream. I cringed as I continued sneaking forwards, pressing myself to the wall in a vain attempt to make use of the shadows. I might have a rough idea of what was going on, but I wasn't going to take chances.

The clopping of hooves on stone grew louder, making me stop dead; I held my breath, waiting until the sound started again a few seconds later, this time growing quieter as they presumably paced back across the room.

I waited for a few moments longer, before creeping up to the edge of the archway the stairs ended in and peaked around the edge. The room beyond was similar to the one down stairs. A sizeable (though much smaller by comparison to the last) chamber, pillars scattered about obscured large chunks of the room.

Though I could still more then enough of what was happening.

In the center of the room lay a familiar purple coloured pony, the rapid rising and falling of her chest the only sign that she was still alive. I couldn't make out much from this distance, though I could hear the faint sobs as she recovered from whatever they were doing to her.

The sound of hooves on stone sounded again, and another figure stepped into view. Another pony though this one was wearing a thick cloak that hid her features, the only defining feature was a horn that just barely stuck out from under her hood.

"Now then miss Sparkle. What's it going to be?" The cloaked pony asked, her voice dripping with malice as a dull green glow enveloped her horn. "Will you help us willingly? Or do I have to resort to, drastic, measures." I shivered; the sadistic grin she bore was evident in her voice.

Twilight didn't respond, or couldn't might have been a better word, faint sobbing was the only sound she made, her body quivering in time with the heart breaking sound. I heard a sigh, before the glow from the ponies horn suddenly flared to a blinding level, I looked away, just as Twilight started screaming again.

I felt my heart sink. Twilight was in trouble, being tortured, and it was my fault. Hell I'd planned this, had actually written this! She was suffering because I'd written a stupid fanfiction!

Finally the glow subsided, as did the cries of pain. I opened my eyes, and noted my vision was slightly blurred, the sting of tears accompanying my poorer vision. I blinked several times, clearing them, before I risked poking my head out again to see what was happening.

"I won't ask again miss Sparkle." The unicorn hissed as she resumed pacing, allowing me to see Twilight again. Thin wisps of smoke coiled off her coat, she wasn't crying anymore, she was barely breathing at all... "You're the most powerful user of magic short of Princess Celestia herself! The master needs your ability. Your magical prowess alone could fulfil what a dozen unicorns working in unison couldn't hope to achieve!" She halted, out of my sight again. "You  _will_  help us, one way or another. Even if we have to drain the magic out of you a fraction at a time."

"When she wakes, we try again." She stated to someone I couldn't see, I risked poking my head out a little further, no luck, a pillar was between me and whoever was in the chamber.

"Why do we need her alive?" A second voice suddenly pitched on, a low, gruff voice that sounded like the owner had been eating sandpaper before opening his mouth. I trembled slightly, the voice striking a cord with my memory. "Were wasting time with this torture!"

"Aww, what's the matter captain, afraid to get your hooves dirty?" The unicorn responded, her voice a mock, motherly coo that did anything but reassure me. " _He_  made it clear that he wants her alive. If she won't cooperate, we'll just have to use her as a mana battery."

"Why bother with this then? If the spell will work with or without her willingly aiding us, why give her the option in the first place!" A loud, resounding bang sounded through the room, the audible rumble of a thunderclap following in its wake. Needless to say I almost tumbled back down the stairs as a result.

"The master wants the Elements of Harmony alive. They'll be a great asset in the future. But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun while we wait on her friends." I cringed as my gaze briefly jumped back to Twilight. If that was her idea of fun, I'd hate to see what she did when she was mad.

…Oh wait, I did know.

"And what of the, creature the master is so fond of? The…human?" The second voice asked after a long moment.

"He…doesn't even tell me why that thing is so important." The unicorn responded with a sigh, I could tell even from here she was not amused at being kept in the dark. "All I know is that he wants it alive for now as well." The clopping sound again this time much louder then before and echoed by a second set of hooves, and the unicorn returned to the center of the room, this time accompanied by her companion.

A hulk of a pony, easily double the size of the cloaked mare, shrouded in a black flight suit with neat purple trim, dark yellow goggles were pulled down over the stallion's eyes.

I felt my knees grow numb as I shuffled back slightly, hiding myself behind the archway again. Captain Nightblade, leader of the Nightmares own take on the shadowbolts, this time though they weren't here just to tempt Rainbow Dash into abandoning her friends, they were a proper fighting force, his elite guard.

And Nightblade was one of the worse, easily as big, if not bigger then Big Mac, and pure muscle. The kind of clichéd brute that would crush your skull with his bare hooves if you so much as looked at him funny, the last pony I wanted to be going up against by myself.

"Speaking of the human." I shifted slightly, peaking around the corner again, watching as the unicorn approached Twilight and lightly nudged her with one hoof. "I trust your men are keeping watch around the perimeter, ensuring we know when the elements and he finds their way out of the forest?"

Nightblade growled, his dark blue wings abruptly spreading as he shot a glare towards the magister. "Of course! Unlike your tricks, they actually do their job right!" He snapped, again one hoof slammed against the ground, that same thunderclap like sound ringing through the chamber. "That teleport scroll was supposed to deliver them right into our hooves, instead they wound up lost in the forest!"

The unicorn clicked her tongue, but chose not to rise to the jab about her magic. "Well, if your troops are so good at their jobs, why exactly has the human been standing there listening to this conversation for the past five minutes without you realizing?"

I felt a chill run down my spine, before I could react the unicorn's head abruptly snapped around and glared straight at me, I didn't need to see her face to know she was looking me dead in the eyes. And like a deer stuck in headlights, I was frozen to the spot, shock and a sudden burst of terror freezing me in place.

Nightblade slowly turned as well, and followed her gaze, spotting me as well. A loud snarl escaped him; I gulped, still finding it impossible to move.

Yeah, this was going to end well…


	7. The Captain and the Magister

Panic gripped me as the two ponies glared at me; the unicorn's face was still hidden, though I could clearly see the snarl on Nightblade's face as his wings spread, ready to take flight at a moments notice. "How did he sneak past the perimeter?" The hulk of a pony growled his head turning towards the unicorn for a moment, before focusing back onto me.

I gulped, the only action I seemed capable of doing it seemed. I fought and struggled to get my limbs moving, to spin around and bolt, but I found myself still remaining firmly rooted to the spot, petrified as the pegasus started to march forwards, each heavy hoof step causing a slight rumble to follow in his wake. "You're the human the master spoke of? I can't say I'm impressed."

For some reason, I stepped forward, rather then back towards the stairs which was what my mind was screaming at me to do. Instead, I advanced a few paces into the room, closing the gap between myself and the hulk of a pegasus as he glared at me, if I could see his face, I assumed it would be with an expression akin to disappointment or annoyance, given I wasn't going to be much of a challenge for him.

"I never was good with first impressions." I stated, my voice wavering slightly and sounding quieter then I'd have liked. But hell the fact that I could move my tongue at all was a miracle; the fact that I hadn't taken one look at Nightblade and run away screaming bloody murder was another.

For some reason, I held my ground, even as the shadow bolt closed within five or six feet of me and halted, goggle obscured eyes boring into my own. "You made a mistake coming here alone human." He briefly glanced over his shoulder. "Finish the spell, we can't waste anymore time."

"What spell?" I asked, ignoring the jab about being alone in favour of hearing what their goal was. I couldn't see much past Nightblade, but the ominous green glow told me enough, the unicorn was up to something. Clearly my intervention had done little to slow them down.

"The master needs an army to conquer Equestria, were providing him with one." I heard the unicorn state proudly. It chilled me to the bone just how pleased she sounded, almost like she was enjoying what she was about to do…

"And you need Twilight, as a mana battery for this?" I asked, my eyes remaining locked with Nightblade's. So far he hadn't attacked me, which gave me the opportunity to confirm this was going where I thought it was, and with luck think of a way to halt the spell before they succeeded.

"Her magic is far superior to mine…" The mare said, her tone shifting from excited to annoyed, she didn't like being second to anyone it seemed. "She refused to help us, so we'll just take what we need by force." Given I wasn't much of a threat; I wasn't surprised they were willing to explain their plans, might as well tell me everything before they killed me.

Or maybe that was just bad writing on my part…

"Uh huh..." I acknowledged her words, my eyes briefly flicking away from the shadow bolt and darting towards the unicorn, she had her back to me and faced Twilight, and her horn glowing a brilliant, almost blinding green, with just a faint edging of purple.

Twilight was on the ground, squirming and fidgeting slightly even in her unconscious state. Clearly this was very uncomfortable, or even downright painful, I felt my heart cracking at the realization that –again- I was the one to blame. The ritual would likely kill her if I didn't do something to stop it.

My gaze shifted back to Nightblade. But what  _could_  I do, he would stop me if I just tried attacking the magister, not to mention she could probably put up a fight, especially if it was who I thought it to be.

Magister Stargazer, second in command of the Nightmare's army once it was summoned, which was mere minutes away.

Damn it! Where the felfire was Applejack and the others! If they were here we could probably do something!

I risked a glance over my shoulder and back towards the stairs, nothing behind me. I turned back and realized the pegasus captain was gone, I blinked in surprise, stepping back a pace, I glanced about uneasily, where did he-

My ears perked up at the faint sound of flapping wings, my eyes bolted upwards, just in time to locate the pony as he grinned down at me, Instinct kicked in and I threw myself to one side and towards a pillar, just in time too, as he suddenly dove towards me, crashing to the ground where I'd been a second before with a deafening crash, stumbling, I risked a glance over my shoulder and watched, awed and terrified as electricity crackled across his hooves.

A second later his head whipped around and focused on me once again, I simply spun on my heel and bolted, not stopping until I made it to one of the pillars that lined the massive chamber and pressed my back to it. Panting heavily, sweat running down my face, I finally took a moment to breathe, and think.

I was alone, I had a pegasus with lightning hooves trying to kill me, and a spell capable of raising thousands of creatures, pony or otherwise, from their graves to serve as a army for the Nightmare being channelled not twenty feet away.

What, the, HELL, was I suppose to do? I couldn't think straight, my mind simply kept turning over the fact that I was in over my head, that it was best to just make a run for the door and pray to whatever deity would listen that I could make it some place far away from here before any of this eventuated.

Somewhere in my head, a tiny voice suddenly cut into my panic ridden emotions and thoughts.

Like it or not, I was here, this was real, and I was going to have to play hero. I might not be cut out for it, but people (err, ponies) were going to die if I couldn't stop that spell. I wasn't a hero, not by a long shot, but no one else could prevent this disaster.

Besides, this was  _my_  fanfiction. It might not be going exactly as I wrote it, but it was still my story, I was a hero there, I could be a hero now…right?

Well, I could at least try and not get horribly killed…that was a good start.

I paused to swallow, my throat dry and making the simple act painful. I cringed, but ignored it, favouring to try and think of a plan to turn this impossible situation around.

I briefly paused, holding my breath; the clopping of hooves was growing louder, drawing nearer…

Too near!

I swiftly spun around just as Nightblade swung around the pillar, his forelegs lashing out to catch me in the chest. Somehow I managed to leap back in time, though even then I felt his hooves scrape against my shirt. "Is this how all of you humans fight? By running away and cowering like a frightened filly," he demanded, leaping forwards in another attempt to strike me, I swiftly scrambled to one side, the rush of air signalling just how close I'd come yet again.

I chose not to respond, instead taking the brief opportunity to put some distance between us. My eyes quickly cast about the massive chamber in hopes of finding something, anything that would prove useful, hell right now I'd settle for a big rock or something that I could throw at him.

"Embrace death human, stop running!" The pegasus snarled, leaping into the air, his wings rapidly beating to carry him high into the air. I started to back away, preparing to dodge whatever he had planned.

I couldn't keep dodging forever though, I needed something. I risked taking my eyes off Nightblade for a second to survey my surroundings, pillars, a few old paintings or the like…why was there no weapons here?

Wait, I paused, my eyes settling on the far side of the chamber. As the green light from Stargazer's spell lit up the chamber more and more, I noted something glinting, reflecting the light.

Something metal I hope.

My gaze snapped back to Nightblade, only to realize he had already started moving, diving on a collision course with me.

Again I threw myself to one side, hoping to dodge his sudden charge and make a run for what I hoped was a weapon.

Luck wasn't on my side it seemed, as I'd barely moved an inch before a sudden burst of pain ripped through my chest as the pegasus' hooves collided with me, knocking the wind out of my lungs, and probably knocked a few ribs out of place in the process.

I hit the ground a second later, and tumbled to a half at the base of another pillar a few feet away. I hissed through clenched teeth as a dozen aches and pains sprung up all at once. My ribs felt like they were on fire, it hurt to breath, however little I was doing, my ears were ringing, and I could taste blood.

And that was just one hit from this guy…wow I was bad at being a hero.

Groaning quietly, I slowly rolled onto my stomach and winced as a fresh wave of pain greeted me. Instead I began pushing up onto my hands and knees, the only pervading thought that wasn't ' _oh hell this freaking hurts!_ ' was simply to get up and moving again. If I stopped for to long, the shadow bolt would have an easier time of killing me.

I swiftly discovered that I had less time then I thought, as a pair of hooves abruptly slammed into my side, sending me sideways and crashing into the pillar a second time. There was no air in my lungs to cry out with this time as I simply slumped back to the ground, my head connected with the hard stone floor, my vision blurred and began to darken at the edges, all sound was replaced with the rapid pounding of my heart and the dull ring of what I assumed was a concussion.

A hazy shadow loomed over me, I tilted my head slightly, doing my best to glare defiantly back at the figure. "Pathetic…I don't know what the master saw in you." I heard Nightblade comment, his voice sounded distant and the words hard to focus on. Despite this, I still did my best to glare at him.

"Neither, do, I…" I mumbled through gritted teeth, my vision was growing darker, and yet I found myself strangely, calm. Unlike when the fight had started and I'd been panicking, now I seemed perfectly, at ease as I stared up at the pegasus.

That knock to the head must have rattled my brains more then I realized.

I weakly struggled to move, to get up or even roll to one side before he could hit me again. My limbs felt heavy, unresponsive, and with the pillar at my back, what could I really do? The only way to go was through the pegasus, and I couldn't do that at peak efficiency, let alone while barely being able to stand.

He said something else, but I didn't hear it, the words were to quiet and distant for me to pick up on. A moment later the shadow moved and I blinked, focusing my eyes just long enough to see he was rearing up on his hind legs, fore hooves poised to crash down on my head.

My mind briefly toyed with trying to move again, but I knew it was pointless. I really didn't want to die, but I had few other options. Instead I simply squeezed my eyes shut, and waited for the inevitable.

So much for playing hero…or going home.

I felt a rush of air run across my face and arms, but no pain or discomfort, just the throbbing ache in my ribs and chest from the previous blows, and the headache from hitting the pillar.

I risked opening my eyes after a long moment of awkward nothingness.

Everything was bathed in an eerie green glow, including the new shadow figure that was standing over me. It was much a much slighter shape then Nightblade, though it still reared on its hind legs though facing away from me, wings spread wide in what seemed to be an act of defiance, its forelegs were brought up close to its chest, appearing ready to fight.

I blinked rapidly, trying to refocus my eyes and fight off the darkness that threatened to engulf me. The angelic creature remained, the green glow illuminating its body nicely. I had to admit, if this was the afterlife, I was impressed so far.

Slowly it dropped back onto its hooves and spun to face me, and I caught a glimpse of its face, bright, rose red coloured eyes widening a touch as it stared down at me, the smooth features creasing in a worried frown as it leaned closer, lips moving as it said something, the words were to muffled to understand, but I still picked up on the sweet, feminine voice. It was oddly pleasing to my battered ears.

I blinked again, my eyes focusing a little more. Just enough to note the mane that hung around her face and over her shoulders, soaking wet but no less vibrant, even in the green lighting of, wherever we were it sparkled several different colours, a beautiful rainbow coloured mane…

_Rainbow…_

_Oh heck…_

I couldn't stifle a groan as the realization hit me, the pony looming over me jolted back an inch before throwing a glance over her shoulder, her eyes were quickly returned to me though. "Come on, get up!" This time her words actually reached me, though they were still faint and distant. I felt something prod my shoulder, and I winced as the aches and pains from being kicked around suddenly returned full force, resulting in a loud hiss of pain.

"Five more, minutes." I mumbled, earning a harsh glare from the cyan pegasus.

"We don't have five minutes! Get up!" She glanced over her shoulder again, searching the room for something.

Suddenly, my mind jolted, realization dawning on me, Nightblade, the spell! When did I forget that? I tried flexing my fingers again, trying to regain feeling in my limbs. Thankfully the numbness was rapidly fading.

Wincing with each tiny movement, I slowly shifted onto my side and forced my arms to start moving; pushing against the ground I began to shift onto my knees. Rainbow Dash quickly retreated a few paces, giving me room to stand.

Using the pillar as a support, I began pulling myself slowly back onto my feet. Little by little I made it back upright, cringing and wincing as the pain in my ribs continued to pain me, Thankfully nothing appeared to be broken, I'd never actually broken bones before, but I had a feeling it would involve a lot less moving and a lot more screaming if I had.

Finally I made it back to my feet, my back pressed against the pillar to ensure I stayed upright. "What happened?" I asked, shaking my head to try and fight off my daze. Finally my eyes were returning to normal, and I managed to steal a glance about the chamber.

Stargazer was still conjuring a spell, though now there was a green, bubble enveloping her, another pony, this one orange with a blond mane and cowboy hat was slowly circling the bubble, glaring at the unicorn through the barrier.

Nightblade was on the ground, glaring back at a white unicorn who's horn glowed a dark purple, closer inspection revealed a similar coloured energy enveloping his hooves and wings, binding him in place, a yellow pegasus was now by Twilight's side, she was trembling and glancing about fearfully, but she refused to move away from her unconscious friend.

"When did you turn up?" I asked Rainbow Dash, a weak smile forming despite my aches and pains. About damn time they decided to show up and help save the day. Though I had a feeling this wouldn't last long. Especially with Nightblade struggling against his magical bonds, Rarity wouldn't be able to hold him for long.

"Just in time to stop you getting pulverized." Dash responded, a wry smirk forming. "You're lucky I was here to save you!" She puffed out her chest proudly; I rolled my eyes, though despite myself I still found a smile briefly forming.

"I owe you one I guess." I responded quickly, taking the opportunity of a quiet moment to push off from the pillar. I swayed unsteadily for a moment, before regaining my balance. My ribs were sore and it was still paining me to breath, but at least I was still alive. I had Dash to thank for that, apparently…

She was about the last pony I expected to save my skin.

"Thanks…I mean it." I said after a moment, a genuine smile forming for a second, regardless, I wasn't going to argue, being alive beat being a bloody mess on the floor.

"Forget about it." The pegasus responded, rolling her eyes at me before moving away to join the others. I remained in place for a long moment, studying the situation around me, Nibhgblade was tied up for the moment, though how long Rarity's magic would hold I couldn't say, hopefully they had a plan to get out of here before the Nightmare's minions regained their footing.

Pushing off from the pillar, I slowly limped towards Fluttershy and Twilight, the former shied away slightly, her face vanishing behind her pink mane, though she refused to back away from her friend.

"How is she?" I asked, gingerly sinking into a crouch next to the pair. Now that I was closer, I noted she was looking, duller then usual. I couldn't say pale as that wasn't the case, but it seemed as though the sheen in her purple coat was faded, the colours seemingly bled out of her.

"I th-think she's okay…" Fluttershy mumbled slowly, I leaned forward slightly, straining my ears to hear her. "She doesn't look hurt, and she's still breathing." I nodded along with the pegasus' words, only half listening as I studied her friend.

That tearing in my heart returned tenfold as I studied the purple unicorn, my vision blurred again and I quickly blinked to clear it, not realizing until a few moments later that something wet and warm was rolling down my cheek.

I quickly wiped it away with the back of one hand and mentally shook myself. This might have been my fault, but what's done was done, I couldn't change that. I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes focusing on Stargazer as she fought to maintain her shield.

…Maybe I could.

I quickly stood and started moving across the chamber. "What do we do with these two?" I asked no one in particular.

"You might have halted the spell for the moment, but the masters plans are already in motion. You cannot stop us!" Stargazer snapped, her voice strained and muffled by the bubble she was projecting. Despite this, I could still feel the defiance in her gaze as she glared at me.

"It's six on one, your better of giving up." The unicorn glanced back and forth between us, seemingly weighing her odds. I guess she came to the same conclusion I did as she finally lowered her head, the magic enveloping her horn fading, as did the bubble.

Slowly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash began to close in, inching forward slowly, ready to pounce if she tried anything. Which, naturally she did.

I blinked, and suddenly her head bolted upwards, fixing me with a death glare as the glow returned. "This, isn't over!" She snapped, the two ponies reacted faster then I did, diving forwards to grab her. Too late, a blinding flash lit up the room I looked away for a second, and when I turned back, she was gone.

My gaze snapped around to focus on her companion, but Nightblade was gone too. "Damn it!" I cursed. So much for changing fate…

"Well…what now?" Rarity asked, no one responded for a long moment.

"Twilight's been through a lot, I think its best we get her to a hospital." I said, my gaze returning to the pony, she was still horrible dull in colour, if I didn't know any better I'd say Discord had been influencing her again, she wasn't quite that faded yet, but a good amount of her colour was gone.

I bit my lip, she wasn't looking good. "We need to get her back to Ponyville. I don't think she's going to last long without help."

Hopefully the ponies knew the way back to town…


	8. Long Road to Nowhere

"What exactly were they doing here?" Rarity asked as she glanced about the chamber, her eyes finally settling on a series of intricate runes that crisscrossed along the floor where Stargazer had been standing. Each seemed to lead into another, and glowed with an unnatural green light that sent a chill through my body.

I frowned slightly as I approached the edge of the markings. How hadn't I noticed those before? I guess I was just too focused on the two ponies to really pay attention, but you'd think glowing green runes like those would catch my eye…

Halting, I studied the runes for a moment, blinking several times as they seemed to skitter and move, always shifting out of focus no matter how hard I stared at them. It also didn't help that my eyes began to ache as I tried to keep them in focus, a dull throbbing in the back of my skull started to flare up and grow worse with each passing second.

"A ritual of some kind," I responded, tearing my gaze away from the markings and blinking the afterimages out of my vision. "They were draining the, magic out of your friend and using it for some kind of…spell."

"But, why, to what end?" The unicorn continued, recoiling a step as though the runes threatened to bite her. With her being a unicorn too, maybe it had.

"I heard them say something about, summoning an army for their master. They needed a lot of magic for it to work and believed Twilight was capable of providing it. I'm assuming she refused to help and…well…" I trailed off, one look at the injured mare was more then enough evidence as to what had resulted from her defiance.

"And you just stood there and let them do that to her?" Rainbow Dash suddenly cut in, and before I could act she suddenly dominated my vision, eyes boring into my own as her wings brought her up to my level.

I swiftly jumped back a step, my eyes widening a touch in surprise, before narrowing in annoyance. She was still blaming me for this, really? "What do you think I was doing when I got my ribs bashed in by that big guy?" I responded through clenched teeth. "I tried, I failed. Don't try and pin this on me!"

"This is way to convenient, you showing up the same day they grab Twilight. I  _know_  you've got something to do with this."

I moved to respond, but hesitated, a frown forming as her words sunk in. In a fashion, I DID have something to do with this…she wasn't wrong. But I wasn't exactly keen to admit that, not that it mattered as I noted a pleased grin starting to fix itself onto the pegasus' face. My expression darkened.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, likely to continue berating me, thankfully Applejack cut in before our disagreement could escalate. "If you two aren't to busy arguin', Twi isn't getting any better!" She snapped, drawing our attention away from each other and back to the situation at hand.

Apparently while we'd been distracted, they'd placed Twilight securely on Applejack's back. "We need ta go, now. Otherwise it won't matter whether we interrupted their spell or not." She continued before either of us could respond.

Rainbow Dash threw another glare my way, before backing down and landing back onto her hooves. "We'll finish this later." She said firmly, eyes boring into my own, even though she was once again back down to waist height; I was still no less intimidated by the cyan pegasus.

After a moment she pushed past me and set off for the stairs, the other ponies following suit. I simply fell into step behind them, glad to finally be putting the castle behind me. It was nice to visit, but I really didn't want to overstay my welcome. "I look forward to it…" I mumbled under my breath, before sighing heavily. I really didn't fancy another run in with her, but I knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to let this go easily, especially with a friend in danger.

Thankfully the rest of the castle was free of surprises. Rainbow Dash stayed at the head of the group with Applejack, and I stayed at the back, keeping well away from her. It was a quick trip down the stairs and back to the main entrance. From there it was back out into the rain (much to my dismay, my clothes were soaked through twice over now!) and back across that damned bridge.

Plunging back into the forest, I almost walked head first into a tree right off the bat, only just managing to duck under it in time. "Do we really have to go through here?" I asked, squinting as the darkness abruptly closed in around me, plunging me into an almost blind state for a few moments before my eyes began to adjust. "I can barely see a hand in front of my face."

"Sadly it's either through the forest or around it…and that would take weeks by hoof." Rarity responded, throwing a glance over her shoulder and giving me a sympathetic look, before resuming her march, with a sigh, I fell into step behind them.

As the darkness began to recede (if only by a little) I began to take in the sights around us. Much like my original trip, we were surrounded on all sides by huge, ancient trees. Their bark was pale gray, withered and cracked. Long thin branches, devoid of leaves bent downwards towards us, giving the appearance of gnarled fingers grouping for us, trying to snatch us from the ground.

Despite the storm raging overhead, only a gentle breeze swept through the thick tree line. The quiet whispering this caused as it circled around us made the hair on the back on my neck stand on end. Maybe it was just paranoia, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy as what seemed to be a voice hissed in my ear, especially surrounded by darkness and foreboding trees.

My eyes jumped about uneasily as we continued onwards through the forest, searching the shadows for anything out of place, though thankfully, I saw nothing. Not even that mysterious pony that had led me to the castle was in sight.

No sooner had the thought of the mystery pony entered my mind, but a dull snap drew my gaze to the left. Glancing through a small gap between the trees, I felt my heart skip a beat as that same shadow caught my eye, just standing there and staring blankly at me. As with my first encounter though, they were veiled by the darkened forest and I couldn't make out any noteworthy details. Save for the fact that it was pony shaped; the shadow was too well hidden to really make out features. I squinted, trying to focus on the shadow as best as I could, though if anything it seemed to grow even less distinct and harder to focus on the harder I tried to make it out.

I felt a sudden, itch in the back of my skull, an uncomfortable feeling which rapidly spread to my eyes. I blinked; trying to shake off the sensation, though it only seemed to be growing wore.

"What ya looking at?" A voice suddenly asked, jolting me from my attempt to focus on the shadow, the second I glanced away to focus on the voice, I noted the sensation in my head and eyes seemed to vanish instantly. I didn't pay it much mind while my attention settled on a bundle of pink standing next to me.

"That, shadow over…there." I glanced back, but found nothing but trees and foliage once again, the pony was gone. "…Could have sworn I saw a, pony watching us." I tilted my head slightly, shifting my weight from foot to foot as I peered into the darkness. Surely they couldn't have run off that swiftly, I only looked away for a second…

"Oh, are they hiding?" Pinkie Pie asked, hoping on the spot and looking around eagerly, as though they'd magically reappear. After a moment she stopped bouncing and glanced in my direction with wide eyes. "Ohh their good!" she said, grinning slightly before bouncing away to resume following her friends. I remained in place for a few moments, blinking stupidly.

"Random doesn't even cut it." I sighed, before sparing one final glance into the forest as that same sensation returned irritating me. Though again the second I gave up and looked away, it faded.

I hastened to follow the ponies, eager to put the forest, and whatever that had been, behind me…

* * *

More then once after that I noted the same shape in the trees around us, though as with before I could never seen to get a clear look at it, whenever I tried to focus on it, I found it either vanishing instantly, or my eyes seemed to ache and grow unfocused until I looked away again, whereupon it would be gone or in a different location when I managed to steal a second glance.

None of the ponies seemed to notice it however, they were too focused on the finding their way through the forest. Though as time continued to tick by, and the ache in my legs and feet began and steadily grew worse from our constant marching. I began to wonder if they even knew which direction was 'right' and if we were even going back to Ponyville, or just further into the forest

Thankfully the forest brightened quite a bit after the first hour or so. The gray, lifeless trees giving way to thick, healthy brown bark and bright green leaves. The path became a little easier to traverse as well, with less roots and knots of grass slowing our progress. I was reminded of an old nature trail I'd been down a few times growing up, the only real difference being the lack of a wooden walkway and signs pointing you in the right direction.

What I wouldn't give for those now…

"I don't see why you dislike this place." I commented after a while longer, idly craning my neck back as I walked. Trying to see the tops of the trees and spot the source of an unfamiliar bird that had began calling. "It seems peaceful enough…well NOW it does."

"That's because were on the edge of the forest." Rarity responded, relief entering her voice as she spoke. "The border of the Everfree isn't so bad…although no less dangerous." I brightened a little at the news that we were almost out of the forest, thankfully nothing had gone wrong.

"How much further?" I asked, finding my feet moving a little faster despite the exhaustion setting in.

"Not far now I'd assume." She responded, sounding about as relieved as I felt at this point. Heck, now that I glanced around, all of the ponies seemed to have a bit of a bounce in their step at the realization that we were nearly out of this mess. Not long now and Twilight would be safe…we all would.

Sure enough, after only a few more minutes, the trees began to recede around us, the thick canopy of leaves and branches parting little by little, allowing more and more light into the forest, thankfully there was no rain to accompany it.

Finally the forest began to fade away around us, the trees giving way to grass, and finally we stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight, blinking as the light blinded me for a few moments. The storm had indeed stopped, though their was still dark clouds looming overhead in places. Sunlight poured through the gaps, illuminating great swaths of grasslands ahead and around us. "Glad to be out of there." I said under my breath. Finally out of that forest…

The ponies were already trotting away towards a series of different coloured buildings a fair distance away. What I could only assume (and hope) was Ponyville. I soon caught up with them and trailed along behind as we approached the town.

Before we made it too far however, something compelled me to glance back over my shoulder, towards the wall of trees, a tingling in the back of my neck.

Upon glancing back, I could have sworn I saw a pony shaped shadow staring back at me, that same irritation in my head returned for the briefest of seconds, before it turned away and vanished into the forest. I blinked, noting the discomfort lingered for a few moments before fading as well.

For some reason, I was left with the sense that my path and that, creatures, would cross again before this was over…

* * *

Surprisingly (or maybe not given the stormy a short while ago) Ponyville was largely dead when we first arrived. I had considered on the walk between the forest and the town that it might be easier to stay away, given the reaction I'd provoked earlier that day, or however long ago it was now, that forest had screwed up my concept of time…

However given Rainbow Dash was suspicious of me and Twilight was still in bad shape, I'd filed the thought away and decided to just take things as they came. Besides, half the town if not more had seen me earlier in the town square. Chances are every pony within the city limits had heard about me by now. So what point there in hiding anymore?

Instead I just remained at the back of the group and followed along silently as they made their way to the hospital…or vet, whatever it was ponies went to when they were sick.

The building was about what I expected, a bright white building with a large Red Cross and the words "Ponyville General Hospital' on the front. The typical sort of building that came to mind when the word hospital was uttered.

Following the ponies inside, I noted the typical reception desk across the sizeable room and a scattering of seats designed for a pony low to the ground and rather broad in size so a pony could stretch out. And of course, white walls. Save a few odd paintings or potted plants, it was just white walls, white ceiling and white floor, with a fancy red carpet. Well that was something I guess…

Applejack wasted no time rushing over to the desk, I reluctantly followed suit, the nurse, a white mare with a pink mane gave the earth pony and her injured friend a concerned glance, before her eyes flicked to me and she went an even paler shade of white, I briefly marvelled that that was even possible.

"Nurse Redheart, mah friend is hurt, she needs help right away!" Applejack demanded, her words tumbling over each other as she tried to explain the situation. I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to cause any more harm then I'd already apparently done.

"Of course, wh-what happened?" She asked, eyes constantly flicking back to me as she spoke.

"Well, uh," the orange mare glanced my way.

"Someon-pony tried to drain her magical essence, it nearly killed her." I stated simply, hoping it would be enough to get the nurse moving, we'd wasted enough time stumbling through the forest. Then again I hoped that made sense in the first place, I really didn't know how that ritual worked or even what they'd done to her, not exactly.

Thankfully that seemed to be enough, as she nodded rapidly and beckoned for Applejack to follow her. The two (and Twilight) soon vanished through a set of doors at the opposite end of the waiting room and vanished.

I sighed, my shoulders slumping slightly as I turned around and found myself facing the remaining four ponies, Pinkie Pie giving me a wide, cheerful grin, Rainbow Dash a scowl, Rarity was lightly nibbling her bottom lip and fixing me with a worried stare, and Fluttershy…was hiding behind her mane again. I was beginning to wonder if she just naturally hid like that, and if so, how did she see where she was going?

I pushed the thought aside for now, filing it away as something to ask later if I got a chance to actually talk to some of the ponies without some catastrophe popping up. "Well…now what?" I asked.

* * *

"What kinda cake do you want?" Pinkie Pie's voice cut into my thoughts, or lack thereof. It took a moment for the question to sink in, whereupon I lifted my head off the arm of the chair, lounge, whatever the ponies called the seats in the waiting room and tilted my head to face the pink pony.

"What?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow as she grinned brightly back at me.

"For your 'welcome to Ponyville' party silly!" She responded with a roll of her eyes, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. For her, it probably was. "Normally I'd just surprise you but I don't really know what a hu-, hu-…you would like." She smiled cheerfully again, and for some reason I felt the corners of my mouth quirk upwards despite our, grim situation.

Applejack had returned a few minutes after leaving, and we were now just sitting around the waiting room hoping for news on how Twilight was doing. It had been, probably about an hour since we turned her over to the doctors and I had decided to get off my feet for ten minutes.

I had expected Rainbow Dash to take the opportunity to pounce on me again now that Twilight was safe. Thankfully though she'd kept to herself, maybe her friends had talked her down, or maybe she was just too concerned about the unicorn to pay attention to me. Either way I hardly cared, a few minutes to relax and clear my head was welcome.

"Uh…surprise me; I'm okay with just about anything." I responded, tilting my head back to its original position. "Chocolate would be preferred though." I continued, closing my eyes for a moment.

"Okie dokie lokie!" I heard her respond, followed by a rapid scratching sound, I idly cracked an eye open and watched her jotting something down on a notepad using a pencil she was clutching between her teeth.

…Where had that come from?

Oh, right, Pinkie Pie. Don't ask.

I briefly considered protesting the party, again. Given I'd told her the night before that I wasn't interested in making my presence know around town. However I quickly reminded myself that, the town pretty much knew I was here now after that little incident earlier today. It hardly mattered whether I avoided the party or not, the ponies knew by

This was not going to end well. But hey, it was going to be impossible to talk Pinkie Pie out of throwing a party, let alone continue hiding from the town. So why not just roll with it? Once Twilight was back on her feet-hooves, then it wouldn't matter, I'd be home and all this would be nothing but a memory.

For some reason, that notion didn't exactly fill with my excitement.

I shifted my position slightly, hoping to find a more comfortable spot, and closed my eyes once again. I'd been on my feet since breakfast, maybe a quick nap was in order-

The sudden creaking of the doors leading deeper into the hospital abruptly cut into my thoughts, causing me to jolt upwards, and probably tumble off the lounge and wind up falling to the floor. Shaking my head, I picked myself up, ignoring the dull throbbing in my ribs. I'd almost forgotten about my beating from earlier.

By the time I'd righted myself, all of the ponies had found their way to their hooves and were clustering together as a stallion approached us, pale gray coat, dark blue mane and tail, and a very grim expression.

Even when I shuffled into position behind the group of ponies his expression remained solemn. I could tell I was not going to like what he had to say. And the quiet exchanged glances between the ponies indicated they weren't keen to hear it either. "You're, Miss Sparkle's friends correct?" He asked, eying each pony in turn, before focusing on me, there was the briefest hint of shock in his expression, but he smoothly masked it a second later. Years of practice I'd wager.

"That's righ'…how is she doc?" Applejack asked.

The stallion focused solely on her before responding slowly. "…I'm afraid I have some, bad news…"


	9. Waiting Game

"I'm afraid I have some, bad news…" The doctor began his voice quiet and emotionless. His expression was set into a grim frown, the kind of expression one would wear when about to deliver news no one (or pony) wanted to hear. I could almost feel the tension in the air as his gaze flicked from pony to pony and finally to me once again. Even the sight of some alien creature didn't break or change his expression in the slightest.

Finally, he broke the tense silence. "Your friends physical injuries are, thankfully very minor, and she's recovering rather quickly." He began, the faint trace of a smile forming. "She's still very weak and drained from her…ordeal though. However all going well she should be back on her hooves in a couple of days."

The group of ponies nodded slightly, the faintest hints of relief cracking their worried expressions. However I continued to frown, my heart beat quickening slightly as I waited for him to continue. I knew what he was going to say, and dearly wished I was wrong.

"Given the nature of her injuries however and what you told us. We ran a few tests to ensure nothing was wrong." His smile was gone now, replaced by a deeper frown then before. "You said she was, being magically drained somehow?" He asked, to which the group nodded slightly.

"Well, sadly you were correct. While she was conscious, we ran a few tests to ensure her magical ability wasn't damaged, standard when dealing with injured unicorns." He paused for a moment, seemingly drawing out the moment and increasing the tension. "She failed every test…"

"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked quietly, the rest of the group completely silent, not even daring to breath.

"Near as we can tell, she can't use her magic, at all. When she tried there was no response, no spark, no glow, and no magical discharge or even build up of any kind. From what we can tell, she's lost all control of her magic, perhaps lost her magic entirely."

The ponies jolted slightly, eyes widening and their eyes jumping to each other briefly before focusing back onto the doctor. I swear I could see the colour draining from their faces.

"Is that even possible/" I cut in before any pony else could speak up. The doctor's eyes flicked to me, and he hesitated, studying me for a long moment, before responding.

"Uh, y-yes, in theory." He stammered, his attention quickly shifting away from me. I sighed quietly and rolled my eyes, honestly I don't even know why that reaction surprised me…

"We've had cases in the past where if a unicorn's horn is damaged or broken, it leads to a loss of magic. However, her horn is undamaged and there is nothing physically wrong. It seems her magic was simply, removed somehow…I'm really not sure how to explain it." He concluded, lightly scratching at the back of his neck with a hoof.

I simply nodded, unsure how to respond beyond that. It confirmed my fears, another point to the 'fanfiction is real' situation. I could take some comfort in knowing she would regain control of her magic, but on the other hand, it would too late to make a difference.

"I uh, have other patients to attend to." The doctor continued after a few moments of silence, none of the ponies finding the strength to speak up it seemed. "As soon as Miss Sparkle is awake again I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thanks doc." Applejack responded weakly, her voice strained and weak, I felt my heart sink slightly listening to her even for that brief moment. The other ponies simply nodded in response, not daring to open their mouths.

With a final nod, the stallion vanished back through the doors separating the rest of the hospital from the waiting room, leaving silence in his wake.

I barely even registered that I was moving until long after I'd returned to the lounge I'd been resting on earlier and slumped back onto it, a heavy sigh escaping me in the process. A dull thump sounded as my head connected with the wall behind me.

Why'd I have to write that…?

"Poor darling," Rarity was the first to break the silence. "She must feel dreadful about losing her magic."

"Well…at least she's going to be okay, you know, aside from that." Rainbow Dash said with a weak smile. "I mean, she's going to live, I'm sure she can go without magic for a few days…" The pegasus offered a weak chuckle as her gaze jumped from pony to pony, almost looking for reassurance, when nopony agreed, her ears drooped slightly and her smile vanished.

"I doubt Twilight would share your thought I'm afraid." Rarity responded after a few moments. "Magic is like…well like your wings darling!" The unicorn continued, finding a comparison that the cyan mare could relate too. Naturally at the mention of her pride and joy's, she abruptly tucked them more tightly against her sides like a knee jerk reaction.

"Losing her magic would be like a pegasus losing their wings. It's a part of who she is, not to mention magic is everything to the poor mare." Rarity continued, her voice growing higher in pitch and more dramatic with each word, one hoof idly waved in the air, completely the effect.

As she continued, I began sinking lower and lower into the lounge, my eyes having long dropped to my feet. With each passing second I felt my heart sinking just as rapidly.

' _And you just stood there and let them do that to her?_ " I heard Rainbow Dash's voice hiss as my mind drifted back to the castle, the brief confrontation between us coming to the forefront of my thoughts.

' _I tried, I failed. Don't try pinning this on me!_ ' I frowned, the response I'd given echoing around my skull for several long moments. At the time I'd felt sure I had tried to help her, after all I go kicked into next week by Nightblade as a result of my attempted heroism.

Dash wasn't wrong though, when she claimed I had something to do with this mess, not that I would admit it to them.

But still, the fact remained that I was to blame. I wrote the story which was influencing events around me, somehow. And even knowing what was about to happen, I still froze when I ran into Stargazer and Nightblade, I'd just stood there like a deer in headlights until they caught me, and then I'd promptly gotten my backside handed to me for my troubles.

My frown deepened. I was still worrying about myself though, Twilight had almost gotten killed and here I was thinking 'oh woe is me I got my ribs bruised'…she needed help, and I'd spent all my time worrying about my own skin then her.

' _A selfish, whiny, coward. That's what you are…'_  I thought my inner voice bitter and dripping with venom. ' _You knew what was going to happen, you know now what's going to happen and you just sit here wasting time!_ '

I winced at the harshness of my own thoughts. Though didn't even try to protest, after all I knew I wasn't wrong. I should have acted faster, maybe even warned the ponies about what was going to happen, and tipped them off somehow. Of course a few things had changed; last I checked the scroll wasn't supposed to double as a teleport. But all the same, I should have said something, done something. Surely there was a way I could have warned them without directly stating 'oh by the way your own world is a cartoon where I'm from'…?

I groaned, my head lolling back and impacting with the wall with a loud thud, a flash of pain crawled through my skull and down my neck, but I ignored it, instead resorting to sink lower down the lounge.

Why did this have to be so damn hard?

"You okay sugarcube?" I lifted my head, eyes opening to scan the room for the source of the sudden question. My eyes landed on Applejack, whom was watching me closely, head tilted to one side and a worried frown creasing her brown.

"Fine, fine, just…restless." I mumbled quietly, suddenly realizing I had all five ponies staring at me intently, a mix of amusement, worry and confusion etched into their expressions. "All this waiting is making me uncomfortable." I said, idly pulling myself into a more comfortable and proper position.

"Well no one said you have to stick around." Rainbow Dash responded, her voice clipped and impatient.

I simply sighed, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. "She might not be my friend. But that doesn't mean I don't care." I responded in an equally impatient tone as I threw the pegasus a glare. The rainbow maned mare responded by sticking her tongue out at me and promptly shifting her attention elsewhere.

I felt my hands twitch as I resumed studying my feet. She really knew how to get under my skin…

* * *

For the third time since arriving, I glanced about the waiting room, searching for a clock of some description. For the third time I was disappointed to find nothing of the sort.

I swear I was starting to go mad sitting here studying the paint job. Once or twice I risked a glance out the door, but aside from the sun going down, -confirming that we'd been here for a good few hours- nothing had really changed o far.

Surprisingly, there wasn't even any ponies entering or leaving the hospital that I could amuse myself with trying to identify. No I just had the paintjob and the random potted plant to stare at in hopes of divining some earth shattering revelation from them.

Conversation had been sparse as well. After the brief run in with Dash the ponies had fallen silent for the most part. Only swapping the odd comment or worry about Twilight's well being. I kept myself well out of their discussions, knowing my own opinions and concerns weren't welcome. One glance at the aforementioned pegasus confirmed that.

No, the entire time she'd been staring at me it seemed. Every time I glanced in her direction her eyes were on me and a scowl was plastered onto her face, a permanent glare. Idly my eyes wandered back to the cyan mare, and sure enough, still glaring. I offered a mock smile at her before tilting my head back to rest against the wall once again.

My thoughts had continued to rattle around my skull as well. I continued to toy with the incident at the castle, tried to figure out if that moment of hesitation had cost Twilight her magic, whether I could have changed things if I'd acted faster, rather then froze up and panicked.

If I could change things.

That thought stuck with me most of all. I knew what was going to happen, more or less, and knew more or less when and how events would play out. Though the question remained, COULD I change things?

This was almost like time travel in a sense. There was so many theory's that came to mind about whether I could change events I'd written or not. And if things would truly follow the story to its conclusion as written or whether things had just been pure coincidence so far. I couldn't really count the incident with Rainbow Dash at the farm, or her behaviour now even if it was how I wrote it. She was just being protective of her friends after all.

But given the events at the old castle and the two ponies involved…

I winced as a dull throbbing returned to the forefront of my mind. I'd been rattling this concept around in my head for hours now (or what felt like it) and still hadn't come up with an answer. I only had a headache to show for it. Still, it was better then slowly going mad as I sat here twiddling my thumbs. So I guess the pain was worth it in the long run.

My hands moved to lightly rub at my temples in a vain attempt to lessen the ache.

"Why are you here?" A voice suddenly asked, so soft and quiet that it took a few moments for me to realize someone had spoken at all. Dropping my hands back to my side, I glanced about the waiting room, an eyebrow quirked in confusion.

Most of the ponies had apparently dozed off while waiting for further news, save one. My eyes settled on Rainbow Dash, who's now trademark scowl had shifted to a mask of confusion and deep thought.

"What?" I asked, keeping my voice low so I didn't wake the other ponies.

"Why are you here?" The cyan pony asked again, her voice a touch louder and clearer, but still quiet, likely having the same intention as me.

"I already told you-"I began, but she cut me off.

"No, why are you HERE, in Ponyville?" She asked, her head tilting very slightly to one side. "Nopony's ever seen or heard about human's before, and all of a sudden…"She waved a hoof in my direction. "Why did you show up the same day those ponies grabbed Twi?"

The question caught me off guard, given she'd done nothing but sneer and glare and throw insults and accusations the entire time since I'd found myself here. Now all of a sudden she was a lot calmer and rational.

"I don't know…" I finally responded, honestly. "Some, demon of my nightmares showed up in my house, said I had some 'role to play'. Next thing I know I'm waking up on Applejack's farm. I'm just as confused as to why I am here as you are." She frowned, and I half expected her to say I was lying.

Instead she simply stared at me for a long moment, studying me. I shifted uneasily, my heart beating a little faster with each passing second as I waited for her to respond, hell I would have taken insults over this silent scrutiny.

Finally she offered a subtle nod, and blinked. "And those, ponies at the castle, their working for this 'nightmare' of yours?" She asked, her eyes narrowing a touch.

"Most likely." I responded slowly, still confused as to what she was digging at.

"Hm…" She paused for a moment, before moving to ask another question, though her words were cut off by the sound of the waiting room doors banging open.

Both of us snapped around to focus on it, and I felt my heart skip a beat as the doctor from before caught my eye. A string of grumbling and pony curses broke out as the sudden arrival of the stallion jolted the other ponies awake, Pinkie Pie promptly followed my earlier example and tumbled off the lounge she'd been sleeping on head first, though unsurprisingly she was on her hooves and sporting a bright grin within a heartbeat.

"Sorry to disturb you." He said grinning slightly at the mad scramble as the five ponies all hastened to their hooves and rushed up to him, I idly followed along at a slower pace. "But Miss Sparkle is awake and can see you for a few minutes." The group of ponies all nodded enthusiastically and murmured with excitement as he gestured towards the door and led the way.

I hesitated for a few moments as the ponies hastily followed after the doctor, my mind suddenly overwhelming me with a dozen thoughts at once.

On one hand, I wanted to go too and see her. I felt responsible for what had happened (And rightly so). However on the other hand, she'd been through a lot, and a human suddenly showing up probably would give her a heart attack. She didn't need anymore stress…

"Hey, you coming or what?" Rainbow Dash suddenly asked, her head poking through the doors. "Or you afraid she's gonna recognize you?" A taunting grin flashed across her face, and I felt my eye twitch. I quickly bit my tongue to stifle my response.

"Urgh, if only to prove you wrong." I grumbled, before falling into step behind her. Honestly, if giving the poor pony a shock would prove I wasn't a spy and got Dash off my back, then so be it…

* * *

The trip through the hospital went rather quickly, though I wasn't surprised to see most of the medical staff and the few paitents that were out and about in the hallways pulling up short and staring as I followed the group of ponies. Wide eyed and shocked, mouth's agape as they watched me go past. A few stopped and exchanged words with each other, their eyes jumping back to me in the process.

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and feel the heat rising to my face as I kept my head down and shuffled along, doing my best not to meet the eyes of anypony I passed. This was maddening, being gawked at like some creature. It was exactly the reason why I wanted to avoid Ponyville, that and I didn't want to start a panic.

But alas, fate hated me that much was certain by now. It enjoyed watching me squirm.

Thankfully the trip only lasted a few minutes, before the doctor finally halted along side a door, a number plastered onto the wall along side it indicating the room number. "Miss Sparkle is in here. She can see you for a few minutes, but she still needs rest." He said quickly, reminding us that our time would be precious.

"Thanks doc." Applejack said with a tip of her hat before nudging the door open and heading into the room. Each pony followed suit one at a time, offering their own mumbled thanks. I simply nodded slightly and trailed along behind.

"Hey sugarcube!" I heard Applejack call out as I followed them into the room. My eyes idly swept left and right, taking in the details out of habit.

There was a bed against the left wall, empty and well made, no doubt waiting for a patient. Next to it was a small dresser for the patient's things and whatever medication they would probably require. A dividing screen obscured what I assumed was Twilight's bed on the opposite side. Confirmed as the ponies all vanished behind it and copied the ornage ponies enthusiastic greeting.

I lingered on the other side of the screen for a few moments, listening to them talking and chattering excitedly, a new voice broke through the murmur, Twilights. Despite myself, a smile tugged at my lips at hearing her.

Finally, after giving them a minute or two, I inched forward and risked shuffling into view.

The first thing I noted was the bed, or more accurately its occupant. The purple unicorn looked a lot better then she had previously, a lot of the colour having returned to her coat. Sadly she still hadn't returned to her full vibrant lavender colour, but it was a lot better then it had been back at the castle.

She was smiling brightly as well as she talked with her friends, reassuring them she was fine and the doctor said she'd be okay in a day or two. Her bright expression helped ease some of the guilt and unease I was feeling.

However it returned full force a second later when her eyes flicked past the group of smiling ponies and landed on me. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, pupils shrinking almost to the point of non existence and the smile vanished instantly as her jaw dropped open in shock.

I froze my heart stopping for a brief instance as the other ponies all turned to look at me as well, though they didn't have the same reaction, thankfully. "Uh…hi?" I greeted weakly, a shy smile forming as I waved slightly with one hand.

"Wh-what is, t-that?" Twilight stammered, eyes never leaving me as she shakily pointed a hoof in my direction.

"The names Simon," I greeted, forcing a smile. "You must be Twilight." She nodded slightly, though her expression didn't change.

"He's a…human. He's not from aroun' here." Applejack pitched in,

Finally she shook her head and snapped her mouth shut, though her eyes remained wide and confused as they swept over me. "H-human? Those things that L-Lyra is always talking about?" She asked her voice a little firmer then before. I blinked, surprised both by the mention of Lyra, and in turn that she knew about humans. Score one for the fans I guess.

The thought brought a tinge of amusement to the corners of my mind. But I pushed it aside for the moment. Now wasn't the time to start acting like a fanboy…

The other ponies exchanged glances, before nodding. "Yeah, I guess so." Rainbow Dash responded. "He kinda, just dropped in yesterday. No idea how or where he came from, or how he got here." Slowly, Twilight's expression shifted almost instantly as the words sunk in, confusion giving way to excitement and a mad glee. I retreated a step, unnerved by her sudden change.

"A traveller from another world?" She asked suddenly, a grin forming. "So there is life on other planets? Or are you from another time? What's it like where you're from? Are their ponies there?" She continued to babble, her questions rapidly bleeding into one another until her words were an incoherent mess.

"Whoa there girl, take a breath!" Applejack said, lightly resting a hoof on the purple unicorn's shoulder. The pony paused to take a deep breath, having long run out of air in her lungs.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just, a creature not native to Equestria, this is unheard of!" She started again, but quickly reigned herself in with a weak cough. "Sorry…" She mumbled, her cheeks reddening as she glanced down at her hooves.

I chuckled weakly, one of my hands moving to scratch the back of my neck. "I wish I shared your enthusiasm…" I said quietly, putting on a polite smile as I shuffled to one side and propped myself up against the wall. "Sadly this visit wasn't exactly…planned." Silence followed my words, Twilight simply looking at me in confusion. I coughed quietly and fidgeted. "Never mind…"

"There'll be time for questions later darling." Rarity stated, drawing attention (thankfully) off of me for a while. "Right now you need your rest, after those ruffians's attacked you."

Twilight winced at the no doubt painful memories. "Who were they anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked, throwing a pointed glance my way. I sighed quietly, knowing what she was hoping for.

"I don't know, they didn't say who they were. Just that they need me for some, spell…" She frowned, trying to dredge up memories of her brief captivity. The ponies all exchanged a brief glance between them, words going unspoken but their expressions telling enough.

"Well, their not gonna hurt you anymore. We'll make sure of that." Applejack stated with a warm smile and a gently hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. Twilight weakly returned the smile. The others simply nodded in agreement, smiles of their own forming. Even I found myself cheering up a bit. Magic or not, she was going to be okay if her behaviour so far was any indication. Although her lack of fear at having lost her magic was confusion…maybe the doctors hadn't told her yet, or maybe they had let her down easy.

I decided not to ask for now. If she didn't know, then it was probably best to keep it that way.

"Thanks girls, that means a lot." Twilight replied, her smile growing a little brighter with each passing second as she studied each of her friends bright cheerful expressions in turn.

Sadly the moment was interrupted by a loud knocking. Glancing towards the door I spotted the doctors head as it appeared around the half open door. "I'm afraid visiting hours are over…well have been over for a while now." He offered an apologetic smile. "Miss Sparkle really needs her rest."

A collective 'awwwww' filled the room as the six ponies pouted, but the doctor didn't relent. Reluctantly, the friends began saying their goodbyes and each took their turn to give Twilight a hug before heading for the door.

"Wait, before you go." They pulled up short and quickly spun to face her again. "Could you, take this with you," She gestured to a scroll that was rolled up and sealed on the bedside table. "Its a letter to the princess…I think its she hear about what happened."

"Sure thing Twi." Rainbow responded, quickly snatching the letter up in her mouth. "We'll make sure she gets it." She continued, her words heavily muffled by the mouthful of paper.

Twilight grinned slightly and mumbled a thanks before the pegasus departed along with the her friends.

I waited for a few moments, letting the ponies file out one by one before I pushed off from the wall. "It was nice meeting you Miss Sparkle; I just wish it was under better circumstances." I said quietly, she nodded.

"Yes, that would have been nice."

With a nod I started to depart, but stopped just shy of stepping past the screen and out of sight. Bitting my lip, I debated whether to say more or not. I wanted to apologize for what had happened, if not for this whole mess then at least for screwing up and not being able to help her back at the castle.

In the end I simply sighed, settling on. "Goodnight Twilight." Before leaving her to rest and following the ponies back to the waiting room.

* * *

A few minutes later, we reluctantly stepped out into the chill night air. Leaving the hospital behind us, the five ponies wandered out onto the street, I trailed along behind, my gaze snapping left and right in search of any ponies that might be out this late. Thankfully the street was quiet, what little I could see anyway.

It took a few moments for me to realize that I could only really see about ten, maybe fifteen feet in any direction. As a thick fog had apparently rolled in, obscuring the streets and buildings. I shivered as the cold air suddenly assaulted me, far colder then anything I was used to back home. It easily cut through my clothes and right to the bone.

The ponies halted as well, glancing about at the foggy marred streets. "First that random storm, now this, what in the hay is going on?" Rainbow Dash grumbled, having tucked the scroll under one wing, she was now able to speak freely again.

"Ah don't know…but its just fog. Nothing ta fuss over." Applejack said, the others agreed, albeit slowly. I simply frowned and continued studying the fog choked streets. My heart beat picked up again and I felt sweat beginning to bead on my forehead and hands.

"Well, this has been…fun. But I'm afraid I must be going, I can't skip out on my beauty sleep after all." Rarity stated, already breaking away from the group and moving a few steps in the direction of her home.

"Yeah, I better go check on Spike and get him to send Twilight's letter." Rainbow Dash agreed, returning the scroll to her mouth as she flared her wings in preparation to take flight.

"Yeah, it's probably for tha best we head home. It's been a long day. We need ta be well rested for tomorrow." Applejack said slowly, almost absent mindedly, eyes still focused on the foggy road ahead. I squinted, peering into the gloom, but I couldn't see anything, just white fog. Maybe she had better eyesight then me though.

The ponies all murmured their agreement, and then shared a set of goodbye's and goodnights before splitting up and head back towards their home, save for Rainbow Dash who was making a stop at the library. I simply followed Applejack, having nowhere else to go and not being told I wasn't welcome anymore.

Plus, in this fog I had no idea where anything was. Best I stuck close with somepony that had a good sense of direction…

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone that read fics over on Fanfiction.net might recognize this story (But probably not) I uploaded this and several other stories there several years ago, though sadly I lost my confidence for a while and hung up my pen for a while. recently though I've been gaining some confidence and writing again and I hope to have something new to show for it in the near future.
> 
> However I figured before then I might as well reupload my old stories here as a means of learning how posting stories works and to put some stuff out there for people to read, (if they can stomach my terrible fanfic skills :P) while I try to come up with new material.
> 
> Anyway, I hope if anyone reads this they enjoy it, and if not, well, my bad.


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